


Scarlet

by tommotheboobear



Category: Hockey AU - Fandom, Original Work, hockey teams
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, Complicated Relationships, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hockey, Light Bondage, Love Triangles, Minor Violence, Oral Sex, Original Universe, Sexual Content, Unresolved Sexual Tension, au hockey, hockey teams - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-03-07 07:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 234,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3166931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tommotheboobear/pseuds/tommotheboobear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shayna and Faith are best friends who have their dream jobs working with the Seattle Scarlet hockey team. Shayna has a crush on defenseman Tristan Deniau, a tall, blue eyed, quiet French Canadian who only seems to appear in awkward situations. Faith is falling for forward Hunter Milda fast and hard, but that relationship could be rocked by a new addition to the team and from her past. Love triangles, team traveling, fights, friends, maybe bondage(?) OF COURSE HOCKEY and more! </p>
<p>Or basically the one where two friends have interesting relationships with hockey players.  (I'm pretty piss poor at summaries.... as previously discussed, you guys know what the plot kinda is?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 'Cause No One Ever Looked So Good....

**Author's Note:**

> So I finally cracked down and wrote this tale of wonder... is it wonder? IDK, but it makes for a good story. Obviously some details are true, some are elaborated a little, some are not so true but mannnnn wouldn't it be nice? The people aren't real but they are based off of us and some of the guys we know. I do not own the real boys, but I totally own the Scarlet so.... There is still more to come! We have a lot written! :) 
> 
> The main title needs work, the Chapter title is from the One Direction song Nobody Compares. 
> 
> **Big shout outs to the following people who helped put this together:**  
>  Michelle - You're an absolute god send! <3 Thanks for stepping in and writing as Faith and her boys. There's so much I can't put to the story because it's your own so... thank you. xoxo 
> 
> Aly - Your help with the names was amazing, thanks for being the first cheerleader and slight springboard reading the rough shit I came up with. Thanks boo! <3
> 
> Big love to the girls of Mr. Knish's SelfServe Yogurt (LOL) for basically letting me use you guys as characters. If this ever gets picked up (haha yeah right) you guys can totally cast your own people.... <3 #byefelicia #yogurt #tsunami #snorkel 
> 
> **Big thank yous to the following things/items that helped with writing that deserve love** :  
> Nick Jonas's self titled Deluxe album  
> One Direction's entire discography  
> Nicki Minaj (a couple of tracks recently have been a great soundtrack)  
> The various cold medications for keeping up late to keep writing  
> and lastly Pepsi both regular and cherry LOL 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy! <3  
> ________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter 1**

It's 3 pm on game day. The office of the Seattle Scarlet hockey team is in pandemonium. Season ticket representatives are flying through the hallways trying to accommodate accounts. Boxes of team calendars are stacked up by the elevators to be picked up and brought to the concourse by the interns. Team management is gathering in a nearby conference room to discuss the roster for this evening.

Shayna Cavalcante sits tapping her fingers on the keyboard in her cubicle watching as people fly by. There's not much she has to do on game days, being second administrative assistant to the teams new president has it's perks. Basically, stay out of the way unless called upon by the first administrative assistant. Looking over at the Scarlet official game time clock, Shayna decides now would be a good time to email her group of friends to see who's actually coming to the game this evening.

The loud slam of a door stirs Shayna out of her thoughts, nearly knocking the computer mouse out of her hand. Two blue eyes are staring directly at her from across the small hallway over the short wall partition of her cubicle.

“Um, can I help you?” Shayna mutters completely confused as to why defenseman Tristan Deniau is silently staring intensely at her. He blinks, not saying a word, and turns to walk down the hall toward the main office floor. “….Alright then,” she mutters quietly while shaking her head. Finding this whole situation weird, Shayna grabs her phone and punches in her best friend Faith's number.

“Is Hunter anywhere around you right now?” Faith answers in two rings.

“Honestly, this is why I don't daytime call you.” Shayna laughs.

“Then what is the purpose of this phone call?” Faith huffs into the phone.

“I thought you would like to know, I've just had the weirdest.... well I wouldn't say run in because I'm totally sitting at my desk here, but Deni just rolled out of an office across the hall and he just stared at me.”

“He wants to marry you. Did he make the eyes at you? Those side eyes, we've all seen them downstairs.”

“For Christ sake, he doesn't side eye me. He's only looking at the glass as he skates by…But, he only looks at us like that because we are never down at ice level on game days.” Shayna huffs, trying to talk reason into her best friend.

Faith shakes her head with a smirk, “I’ve got one word for you…Lounge Seats! ... Ok, actually that’s’ two words” she shrugged.

“That was one time, ONE TIME in the Lounge and now all of the sudden, SIDE EYES.” Shayna got chills at the memory of Tristan staring at her, the way his features all lead back to his icy blue eyes. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts before she completely loses her focus. “Anyway, the purpose of this call, other than to tell you about that major awkwardness with Deni... are you allowed to leave your office this evening for the game?”

“Yes, for the love of god, yes. It's Hunter's 1000th game and I'm not missing it. I don't care Team Liason, public relations or not, I'm there for this.”

“Awesome, I'll catch you at 5 at the elevators then?” Shayna asks glancing back at the clock on the wall.

“Of course!”

The call disconnects with no further conversation. Shayna makes a note to grab her jersey from the team store later on, trying to ignore the fact she just ordered a Tristan Deniau jersey just hours earlier.

*****

“Man, 1,000 games. Who would have thought? I'm so excited for him. I should have made a sign,” Faith McCallium giggles staring at the picture of Hunter Milda on her phone.

“Are you going to be able to hold it together? This is why we never go this close to the rink,” Shayna looks over at her best friend who is practically bouncing as the elevator descends to the locker room level of the arena.

“I can't believe you two talked me into coming down here,” Audrey Patrick smirks at the two girls. Audrey usually wouldn't be seen anywhere in the arena other than the President's suite, but since becoming close friends with Shayna and Faith she decided maybe this one time would be fine just to see what all the talk is about. Her husband, Jordan was the new president of the team and was out doing his usual fan service out in the plaza.

“You’ll love it! Besides, we look super important socializing with the President's wife. Shhhhh....” Faith grins back at her.

The elevator signals their arrival. Together the girls walk out to the hallway, the sound of heels on the concrete floor the only noise at the moment. The doors to the arena will be opening soon enough and the sounds of the sold out crowd will bring the hallway to life.

“I think we should go over by the Platinum area. I wanna be able to see them warm up,” Shayna speaks up in the silence.

“You just wanna see Tristaaannnn stretch out don't you?” Faith jested in a sing-song voice. “Admit it. You totally shit yourself earlier when you saw him. Awww, someone has a crush on Deni....” Faith grins while raising an eyebrow stating the last part as if it's a matter of fact.

“Shut it” Shayna blushes. “Maybe. I don't know. Just… I don't know. Let's go, please?” Shayna gives the girls a pout as she turns to face them. Her face drops as she turns spying Tristan a little way up the hallway behind her friends.

“Is that the face you gave him when he was oogling you earlier? I don't blame him for not saying anything,” Faith laughs. She notices the shocked look on Shayna's face and turns to see what has caught her attention. “Oh hey Tristan.... how's it going? Have a good game tonight, alright? Ok, then.... Good talk,” Faith mutters while making a face at him for ignoring her attempt at striking up a conversation.

Tristan’s mumbles are almost inaudible as he walks down the hallway, keeping his gaze towards the floor for most of his pursuit. He is obviously coming from the hallway behind them, but the girls know he had to have been listening in on their girl talk. He smirks as he took in the three of them standing with shocked faces, as he opened the locker room door.

“Seriously? What the fuck was that? Did he really just walk past and not say anything?” Faith sighs turning back with her mouth gaping open.

Shayna shakes her head, her face completely red from blushing. Trying to figure out what just happened, she reaches the handle of the double doors, opening the doors to the Platinum Lounge.

“We aren't going to address that?” Audrey asks in amusement as they walk through the exclusive, swanky Platinum Lounge.

“I can't.” Shayna puts a shaky hand to her face. “Did you see those shorts he had on? I'm surprised I can even form a sentence right now… Maybe we shouldn't be down here? I'll just stay here at the bar” she nods to herself, “yeah that's a good plan. I can't face him.”

“SHAYNA!” Faith hissed, “like hell you aren't going down there! Hello? Hunter. 1,000th game. We only need to stay for a few minutes and then we can head back to the suite. I'm sure I have something to report to JP anyway. It’s only a few minutes” she pleads. “Let me get my few minutes of Hunter? Please? PLEASE?” Faith begs with the same sad eyes Shayna previously just used.

“Fine. Fine, I just need a drink first.” Shayna sighs, shoulders slumping a bit.

The girls make it into the lounge without further discussions. Shayna walks right up to the bar holding her hand up while sitting on a leather chair.

“Molson, alcohol, whatever’s closest, I don't even care....” she sighs as the bartender comes over.

“Hurry up!” Faith rushes her, waving her hand signaling the exit towards the penalty box area.

Dropping a bill for the bartender and gathering her drink, Shayna walks over to the exit, glaring at a near skipping Faith.

“It's almost time!”

Just as they walk out to the box, the house lights in the arena come up and the music picks up. Blame by Calvin Harris starts to blare out of the arena sound system. Shayna takes a large gulp of her beer in anticipation of the team exiting the locker room tunnel onto the ice. Faith perks up and starts clapping for the team she has spent years dedicating herself to. Audrey quietly sits on the bench behind her, almost second guessing herself for accompanying the girls down to ice level.

One by one the players step out on to the ice with the starting goalie, London Maddox, leading the team. Logan Casper knocks over the pile of pucks piled up on the boards. Players are skating circles around their half of the ice, most stopping and starting their usual stretches. Hunter Milda skates out second to last, causing Faith to bang on the glass in front of them.

“What?” she smirks “Don't you look at me like that! YEAH HUNTS!!!” she glances over her shoulder at the girls, continuing to slap the glass.

Shayna stands off to the corner, clutching her plastic cup focusing on the numbers skating around. She scans a handful of jerseys before she finds number 22 behind the net. “Deni” she whispers as he's coming up the ice up towards the blue line. Tristan turns and takes another lap, shooting the puck into the open net on his way back down the ice. He skates up the boards again, farther this time than last, and stops just shy of the penalty box. He moves around his teammate, Luca Langenberg, to his usual spot to start his stretches. He quickly notices the girls standing in the box. Seemingly unfazed, he dropped to the ice as usual and started to stretch.

“Oh…oh, Shayna, are you watching this?” Faith gawks, staring at Tristan’s stretching body in front of her. “You think he's during this on purpose?” she cocks her head to the side to get a better view “it’s almost like showing off? OH GOD, there's that wiggle.”

“Well, this is so much more amusing than from way up in the suite!” Audrey chuckled, amused by the girls candid conversation. “You know” she slides forward on the bench “Pesek is WAY better looking with full gear,” Audrey whispers even though it's only the three of them in the small plexi-glass enclosure as she continues to lean forward a little more to see over the boards.

“I'm pretty sure they can hear us… you know, with the break in the glass for the door here,” Shayna mutters looking down on Tristan. He turns slightly to look back at her, causing her to jump back. “SEE, I TOLD YOU SO,” she points down to the ice.

“Doubtful. Honestly, with this music? Purely coincidence,” Faith shakes her head while rolling her eyes.

Keith, the PA announcer, walks across the ice from the opposing penalty box to come to his announcer table next to where the girls are sitting. He knocks on the glass as a warning before he opens the door.

“Good evening ladies, Mrs. Patrick. I just need to scoot by you here to get to the headset if you don't mind,” Keith smiles as he sticks his head in.

“No problem,” Shayna opens the door more allowing him access to the box. Just as she steps to the side, a puck slams into the glass in front of her leaving a wet circle mark. Glaring up to see who it was, Shayna is greeted by a smiling Gavin Taylor standing in front of a smug looking Tristan. Gavin shrugs while trying to move away from Tristan as if to say “Not me... him”.

Tristan stares intently at Shayna before collecting a loose puck and skating down towards the goal. “You have got to be kidding me right now with this,” Faith chuckles watching the interaction between Tristan and Shayna. “Is he really using high school attention grabbing antics? Can you to just hook up and get it over with already?” Faith laughs as she slams the door to the box closed. “I mean really.”

Shayna gulps down the rest of her beer, trying not to make any eye contact with anyone on the other side of the glass.

“I've had enough and oh look at that, beer is gone,” Shayna turns the plastic cup upside down with a slight pout.

“No, come on. I wanna see what else these boys have in store for us!” Faith whines turning back with her hands still pressed on the glass in front of her. “…and Hunter…” she sighs “looks really good…just a few more minutes?”

“Nah, I'm going to get another drink and then stop by the WAGS to see who's here. I'll meet you guys at the suite,” Shayna replies as she exits the small door in the back of the box.

“Suit yourself, I'll give Deni your love....” Faith doesn't turn but Shayna knows she's smirking.

Shayna walks down the small hallway back to the lounge area, stopping at the bar for another drink. After she pays, she takes the elevators up to the main concourse.

At this point, everything is in full swing. People in Scarlet jerseys are everywhere. Kids are running around, narrowly missing Shayna.

“Control your spawn” Shayna mumbles to herself, heading over to Section 11. She immediately spots Victoria and Greta just getting to the top of the stairs. “Hey ladies!” Shayna smiles and waves as they approach.

“Shayna! Lovely to see you! Took some great pictures of the team,” Greta laughs as she holds up her camera while giving her a one-armed hug.

“That's awesome. I look forward to seeing them later. I just wanted to say hi before I went upstairs. Anyone else here?” Shayna asked looking down the section.

“We saw Everly, Archer and Livy earlier during warm ups. I think they were off getting drinks,” Victoria points behind her.

“Awesome, tell them I said hi. I gotta head back upstairs. I'll be around I’m sure, but if not, see you ladies later on?” Shayna asks shaking her cup and smiling.

“Yes!” both girls giggle back.

Shayna waves to them and turns heading up the staircase to the suite level. The Presidential Suite, The General Manager Suite and the players suites are right at the top of the stairs. Shayna smiles at Security before walking right into the President's suite. Shayna is instantly greeted by Faith babbling on about Hunter Milda.

“Did you see how many shots he took from the point? He looked amazing. He’s going to have a record game tonight. I hope they give him something other than a dumb watch for this game. Maybe I should suggest something different, it’s not every day you play ONE-THOUSAND games. That’s kind of a big deal” Faith jabbered on to Audrey as they sit at the small bar top above the rows of seats. “There she is.... welcome back.”

“Hey guys,” Shayna says as she takes a seat next to Audrey. “Stopped by and saw Greta and Victoria. No idea where the trio went, but they're here somewhere. Didn't see anyone else. They both say hi.”

After a few moments of small talk the lights go down in the arena for the pregame video. Shayna hops off the chair to sit in one of the oversized leather seats in the exposed part of the box. She kicks off her heels, stretching her toes briefly. She turns to see if anyone is in the suites next to them, noticing that the usual suits are in the GM's suite. No one is in the players suite at the moment, but knowing the game will be starting she expects to see some unhappy faces soon.

*****  
“This team, I swear to god, down 2 goals at the first?” Faith slumps over dramatically on the bar top. “They’re trying to kill me.”

Shayna walks back up the step to the enclosed portion of the suite, grabbing a plate for the buffet of food provided for them.

“It’s only the first intermission, calm yourself.” Shayna laughs as she grabs a small sandwich from a platter in front of her. “I'd like to blame Kopecky, but you know that's too easy.”

“I do blame Kopecky because thanks to him Deni was a scratch. Why? JP! WHY HAS HE BEEN SCRATCHED? You put in Kopey over Tristan? I don’t get it….Where is he by the way...” Faith hops off her chair and looks around the small dividing wall between the Presidential suite and the players suite. “No one is over there. Hmm.”

“Why are we yelling over here?” JP walks back into the suite, hugging Audrey as he walks up. “You know I don't have much decision on who is scratched.”

“You look lovely in lilac, J,” Shayna smiles from the table she's sitting at with her sandwich.

“The wife says to wear it, and I do,” he grins looking at Audrey placing a kiss on her cheek. She turns a slight red color.

Finishing up her small sandwich, Shayna gets up and throws out the plate in the garbage drawer at the buffet counter. Opening the refrigerator she grabs a beer, opens it and pours it in her plastic cup.

“Just for the record, it’s not a big deal who's scratched ok?” she glares at Faith who holds up her free hand from behind her at the buffet.

“Whatever you say...” Faith laughs as Shayna walks out the door of the suite.

Shayna walks up to the railing, leaning over to look down at the people walking on the main concourse. She waves to a few people she knows as she sorts through a few texts her phone.

“You know what, I'm gonna head down to see if my jersey is ready at the store. I'll be back in a few,” Shayna yelled turning back to the door of the suite. She walks down the stairs back down to the main concourse and heads over to the newly installed Jersey Carousel she and JP had dreamt up.

“Could you imagine how awesome it would be to have a dry cleaner style carousel on the main concourse full of Scarlet jerseys hanging over the concourse? People would eat that up!”

Shayna waits in line and picks up her jersey, wincing at her choice of name. Tristan Deniau has been her favorite player since he first arrived on the team three years ago, prior to her getting her job with the team. Her friends would back her up on that while also teasing her relentlessly.

Walking back up to the suite level, she mentally prepares herself for the onslaught of comments from Faith thus causing her to almost collide with the person in front of her as she turns the corner at the stairs. She drops the jersey, cursing but thankful that she didn't have her beer in hand as she usually does.

“Ooof, oh god, I'm so sorry...” Shayna panics, bending down to grab the jersey off the floor.

“No, it's my fault. I'm sorry, are you alright?” a quiet, deep accented voice replies. Shayna recognizes the voice instantly stopping her dead in her tracks, sending chills up her spine. She lifts her gaze up from the ground to see the familiar piercing blue eyes from earlier staring back at her. “Tristan..”

Tristan picks up the jersey off the floor. “Nice name,” he smirks, reading his name across the back.

“Oh...yeah” Shayna smiles nervously, “I didn’t know who to get, but then I decided that wanted you…YOUR JERSEY” she quickly blurts out “I meant your jersey, not you…” Shayna silently cursed herself, ‘Oh god, I just said I wanted him’, while shifting awkwardly.

Tristan chuckles in amusement as Shayna rambles on nervously, turning as red as the Scarlet jersey between them. Officially now in panic mode, she closed her eyes, feeling that familiar tingle shoot up the back of her neck listening to Tristan’s deep chuckle, taking note of the way the corners of his mouth crook up ever so slightly. There was something about the way his jaw, covered in what has to be two day old stubble, curved to form the perfect smile, and not to mention the little glimmer in his crystal blue eyes. The combination has Shayna’s head spinning. “I mean… I don’t know, but…this isn’t going well” she mumbles to herself, making sure to avoid his eyes which she can feel burning into her. She takes a breath before continuing “… ok, well.. thanks for picking that up...I should go… bye. Sorry!” She quickly extends her arm out to take the jersey, causing their hands to briefly come in contact. Another jolt of electricity races through her body as she grabs the jersey, clutching it to her. She steps away from Tristan, trying her best to keep her cool. He looks on in amusement as Shayna hurries down the hallway back towards the Presidents suite.

Shayna glances over her shoulder to see him standing there, watching at her every move. His eyes meet hers briefly, and Shayna can feel a rush of heat take over her face. She ducks quickly into the suite with a mortified look on her face.

“Oh God, I’m just never going to come out of my cubical ever again,” Shayna half sobs announcing it to the suite she just burst into. “Why does he need to be everywhere I am?”

“Oh hi Shay, Tristan is up here by the way,” Faith slyly comments while taking in Shayna's red face and jersey clutched to her front.

“I hate you,” Shayna mutters as she drops the jersey to the chair beside the door. Grabbing her beer from the table where she’d left it she walks down to the chairs on the lower level past her friends. Slumping down she sighs to herself and takes a gulp of the drink. “Why is it always so awkward.”

*****

The Scarlet win the game 3-2, tying the game in the second period with goals from Gavin Taylor and Anders Mikaelsson. The third period brought a go ahead goal from Anders again with five minutes to go to secure the win for the Scarlet.

Shayna and Faith say their goodbyes to Audrey and JP in the suite before they head back to the offices to grab their purses.

“Maybe we should stop at the apartment before heading over to the bar. I can't stand these shoes for much longer,” Shayna pouts holding her heeled foot up to Faith who scowls at her as they ride the elevator down.

“You'll wear those beautiful, perfect, sexy Louboutins and you’ll like it. They make your legs look lean, your ass pop, and I'm sure Deni will be out looking at both of those things. Those are your best shoes,” Faith shakes her head while slapping down Shayna's foot. “Get that thing away from me” she chuckles.

“Are you trying to say these are my only decent shoes?” Shayna makes a semi-horrified face, mocking Faith. “These shoes, by the way, were $850 mind you...”

The elevator signals their arrival to the VIP Entrance level where some of their friends are waiting around.

“Faith! Shayna! You guys are coming out tonight to Mile right?” Everly waves as they exit the doors walking over to the girls.

“Of course! Who am I to ever say no to a drink?” Shayna laughs as she goes through hugging each one hello. “We will meet you guys over there.”

Once everyone is properly hugged, Shayna pulls out her keys and heads for the doors with Faith in tow to the parking deck.

“I guess we'll drop my car of at my place and just walk down the street. No sense in driving it over if we are drinking,” Shayna says clicking the remote to her black Audi Q3 in the row ahead of them. Faith nods as she climbs in.

“So,” Faith smirks as the small SUV purrs to life. “You going to say anything to Deni if he's there? What if he finally talks to you?”

“Honestly whatever happens, happens. I've been around just as long as he has, so… why now? Am I just a last resort? I mean we all know they know us and they like to joke around with us, but it's gotten a bit excessive don't you think? Unless it's just us? We do look into things too much sometimes,” Shayna scowls as they turn out of the parking deck on to the streets of Seattle. She bites her thumbnail nervously as they sit at the traffic light behind a little bit of traffic.

“Who knows, but why not take advantage of it? Am I right? Let's see if he shows up before we start freaking out over nothing…” Faith reassures her. “I’d kill to get the same looks you get from Deni from Hunter. Don’t let your uncertainty get in the way of something awesome. Just see what happens!”

“I guess you’re right” Shayna shrugs as she pulls up to the parking deck of the high rise building that she and Faith live in. She clicks the button of the garage door allowing them access to the resident-only parking.

“I suppose there is no reason to go upstairs so whatever you wanna leave here, do it. We can grab whatever on the way up later,” Shayna sighs hoping Faith catches her hint about her shoes.

“Sounds good, I'm leaving my work bag,” she smiles. “And I know what you are doing, no to the shoes, deal with it. You always end up walking back around the corner with no shoes on anyway so what difference does it make?” Faith smirks, cracking up laughing.

*****

Nautical Mile is quiet for a Saturday night when the two girls finally arrive. Most of the team and its employees live in the same neighborhood within a short distance from the arena. They chose this bar as their go to place because of the great service, convenient location, and the amazing outdoor patio. Not many places in Seattle can showcase the city’s beauty like Nautical Mile. The huge firepits and oversized couch seating overlooking downtown Seattle is a common meeting point for a post-game chill session. A perfect breeze in the summer, and a warm glow from the fire in the winter; it doesn’t get much better than that.

Waving to the reception of regulars, the girls continue to the bar area on the left side of the building. There are a few people sitting around in the dark wood booths surrounding the bars, but as usual, two stools remain vacant directly opposite the patio doors. It’s almost as if they have a hidden reserved sign on them. “I'll have my usual, Zach. Stoli, cranberry, pineapple, shot of Sprite with an orange. And for the love of god in a pint glass please? I can't deal with those small glasses,” Shayna smiles as she slides on to the bar stool in front of her.

“Oh we are going heavy this evening are we? I'll have a Jack and ginger, why not,” Faith laughs putting her wristlet down on the bar top.

While waiting for their drinks, a few of their usual crowd starts pouring in from outside. Logan Casper walks in with Casey Gates, the backup goalie for the Scarlet with their girlfriends Archer Vaughn and Livy Chiave in tow. Behind them Everly, Livy's older sister, and London Maddox stroll in. The girls wave to Faith and Shayna at the bar and sit down at their usual booth letting their guys pick up their drinks.

A few minutes later, Hunter Milda comes in from the marina door off to the side of the bar. His presence quickly diverts Faith's attention from her conversation with Shayna. Shayna grins from behind her straw at her friend sitting next to her.

“Well, well, well… look who it is. Are you going to talk to him?” she laughs taking another sip of her drink.

“Hell yeah I’m going to talk to him!” Faith grins taking a big gulp of her drink. “God look at him. How is it possible for one man to command a room so easily?” Faith gets up from her stool and unbuttons the top few buttons on her blouse and tosses her hair “How do I look?” she flashes a quick smile at Shayna.

“You're seriously out of control, button your damn shirt” Shayna chuckles reaching to cover up Faiths newly exposed chest.

“Jesus Christ mom its just a little cleveage! I’m not in the office right now” Faith swats at her hands “ZACH!” Faith hollers. “Refill please? And make it a strong one since obviously I'm going to need it, AND will you please tell Shay my boobs look good and deserve a little fresh air?” she sets her glass on the counter, fixing the button Shayna had tried to redo.

“You know I’m not really a boob man” Zach winked “But, you’re stunning honey” he chuckles, pouring her a heavy-handed followup cocktail.

“See? Stunning!” Faith grins at Shayna and walks the length of the bar over to where Hunter was now seated. She made sure that he saw her coming and used every inch of that walk as a runway to capture his attention.

“Hey Hunts!” Faith smiles wrapping an arm around his shoulder “Congratulations on the milestone game tonight!” she plants a kiss on his cheek, leaving an obvious smudge of her lipstick.

“Hi beautiful” he smiles back at her “I can’t thank you enough for my lovely crystal…” he raised an eyebrow with an obvious inflection of sarcasm.

“Oh shush you” she pokes him playfully “Don’t you think you have enough watches by now?” Faith takes her finger and traces around the edge of the watch he has on. “I feel like every time I see you you’re wearing a new one.”

“Yeah well… I like to look good” he slowly lets his eyes wander down from her face directly down her newly opened blouse.

Faith chuckles and with one finger lifts his gaze back upwards “Hunter you always look good… and you know that.” She took her thumb and ran it across his cheek, slowly removing her lip print. “Looks like I was trying to claim you as my own,” she smiles once all of the lipstick has been rubbed off.

“Would that be so bad?” Hunter counters quickly, his brown eyes dark and dialated in the dim light of the bar.

A small smile creeps across Faith’s face. No sooner does she go to speak, she is interrupted by the loud clang of the ship bell “SHOTS FOR THE LADIES!”.

“FAITH COME ON!” Shayna runs over, grabbing her hand giving it a tug.

“I guess that’s my cue…” Faith smiles, removing her arm from around Hunters shoulders.

He slides an arm around her placing a quick peck on her lips. “Think about what I said…” he says seriously, releasing his arm from around her.

Faith nodded with a wink, being pulled away by Shayna.

*****

A few drinks later, the girls are all chatting and singing along to the music on the jukebox that they took over.

“Yes! Who put on One Direction? Honestly, do you want me to climb on this table right now and belt this out because I totally will,” Shayna laughs as she stands up from the booth holding her hands up in excitement.

“You know I did, I love when you get sloppy drunk and just start singing! Doesn't hurt I love this song too,” Greta holds up her hand laughing.

“I'll be right back, drink time. Anyone need anything? No? Ok good, I don't have hands for it anyway,” Shayna laughs grabbing her glass off of the full table in front of her. She holds up her glass at the bar which is now full with people since she was up there last. Zach spots her holds up his hand and nods to her. She squeezes between Gavin Taylor and Logan Casper to put her glass down.

“Helloooo boys, how's it going?” Shayna asks as they move out of her way to accommodate her at the bar top. She ruffles Gavin's growing mop-top, and gave Logan a kiss on the cheek “Nice goal tonight Gavs!” she smiles.

“Thanks Shay!” he smiled “So, um…is Ella with you girls? I didn't see her earlier,” Gavin asks looking to the table of girls behind Shayna with hopeful eyes.

“No, she didn't make the game today, finishing up her research at the lab this evening. She'll be at the next game no doubt…but I’ll tell her you were looking for her” Shayna smiles.

“Shay, drink's paid for,” Zach yells out from the other side of the bar placing the drink on a napkin in front of the boys holding his hand up when Shayna goes to hand him money.

“What? From who?” Shayna asks trying to stand on her tippy toes, holding on to Gavin's shoulder to see who Zach is pointing to down the end of the bar. Tristan holds up his hand in acknowledgment with a slight smile. Shayna sucks in a sharp breath and raises an eyebrow confusingly holding up her drink as she nods slightly at him. “When did he even get here?”

“Tristan paid for your drink? Oh god, he’s got it bad!” Logan laughs nearly choking on his beer. Shayna slaps him on the back, a little harder than necessary, to help ease the choking. She sighed shaking her head. “I don't get it. Why me…why now?” Shayna walks away clutching her glass as she sinks back down in the booth where her friends are sitting. “Tristan paid for my drink,” she blurts out as soon as she reaches the table.

“Get the hell out! Are you serious?” a tipsy Faith shouts out from across the table. “You better go talk to him. It's only fair.” She can see the hesitation in Shaynas eyes and gives her a look “Honestly, you need to grow a pair. Oh my god, go get nauty! Get it? We are at Nautical Mile... Seriously, go say thank you in person.”

“GO! GO! GO!” the table of girls start chanting at Shayna, glasses clinking on the table.

“Jesus, fine. Fine, I'll go. I'll be right back,” Shayna puts her glass down on the table, smooths out her black sweater over her pencil skirt. “Do I look ok?”

“Perfect! Gooooooo!” Faith waves her hand at her.

Shayna nods as she picks up her glass, taking a long deep breath as she turns from the table. Listening to the whistles and calls from her friends she slowly walks right past where Tristan is sitting into the bathroom. Putting her glass down on the countertop with an unsteady hand, she looks into the mirror. Not trusting the judgment of her friends she gives herself the once over making sure she looked okay. It was dark at the table and most of them were several drinks in already, so she had to be sure. She takes a deep breath, straightens her brown hair a little, smiles at the mirror and grabs her drink, heading back out to face Tristan.

Shayna can see the entire booth of girls looking dead at her with wide eyes as she exits the bathroom. Faith is giving her a scowl and thumbs down knowing she's probably contemplating backing out. Livy, Everly and Archer are pointing towards Tristan at the bar, and poor Greta is sitting with her head on her hand looking bored. Victoria gives her an encouraging thumbs up and nods towards Tristan. Shayna shrugs, makes the sign of the cross and heads to the bar.

Tristan is sitting parallel to the bar talking to Luca and his friend Stefan. He notices Shayna approach them and his eyes light up as he smiles at her.

“Hi, I'm sorry to bother you… but I just wanted to say thanks for the drink. I appreciate it, but you really didn't have to do that,” Shayna squeaks out once Luca is done talking.

“And that is our cue to leave. Tristan, see ya later?” Luca smirks as he taps Stefan and nods his head to the side to tell him to leave.

“Yeah, sure,” Tristan replies as he shakes Luca and Stefan's hands.

“Oh you don't need to leave, I was just saying thank you and I'm going back to the girls table. You can stay,” Shayna steps back pointing at the table where her friends all turn away to look as if they weren't watching the entire time.

Tristan extends his arm behind her, catching the small of her back. “Stay.” The realization of what he had done starts to sink in and he quickly puts his arm down shifting his gaze back to his glass. “I’d like to talk to you…” he mumbles quietly.

Luca raises an eyebrow at Tristan, not used to this type of behavior from him. Turning to Shayna he shakes his head, “Trust me, you don't want them as an audience right now,” Luca laughs giving Tristan a supportive pat on the back. “Besides, Greta's gotta go... I can see from here someone has had a little too much already. Oh, was that you belting out that song before?” he gave Shayna a nudge “ That’s obviously our cue to leave. Cheers.”

Luca and Stefan walk off to the table of girls where a round of clapping seems to have broken out. Shayna shakes her head and looks back down at her glass silently cursing her friends and Luca for leaving. Glancing up, Tristan is looking at her.

“You wanna have a seat?” he asks holding his hand out to the chair next to him. “Looks like you need another drink anyway.”

“I guess, but please, you don't have to buy it. Let me get this one?” Shayna holds her glass out to Zach who is grinning and gives her a thumbs up. “Honestly, I hate everyone today,” she mumbles to herself, noticing the smell of his cologne right away as she slides on the stool beside him.

“What was that?” Tristan asks turning back to face the bar while nodding to Zach for his drink.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing… Sorry about before, you know, running into you and then running off. Poor manners on my part. Zach, I'm paying for these,” Shayna replies as she grabs into her pocket to put down a bill on the bar.

“It's ok, I ran into you I guess.” Tristan grabs his glass off the bar taking a sip looking straight ahead. “I was distracted and not paying attention.”

Just then as if on signal, 'Glad You Came' by The Wanted starts playing through the bar. Shayna grimaces into her cup, sighing. Zach starts laughing from his corner behind the bottles of vodka. She can hear the giggles from the table across the bar.

“Are your friends laughing at you right now?” Tristan asks leaning back looking behind Shayna with amusement in his voice. There are hushed voices and shh sounds coming from the table now.

“Probably,” Shayna takes a gulp from her glass, leaning to her right to put her head on her hand slightly embarrassed thanks to her friends. “Everything’s always so awkward.”

“Why awkward?” Tristan asks, genuine concern spreading across his face, his blue eyes looking sad.

“This” she waves her hands between them “this is awkward. I shouldn't be sitting here. I don't even know what to say to you.” Shayna puts her glass down on the cardboard coaster in front of her and looks at Tristan.

“I don’t think it’s awkward. I've actually wanted to talk to you for a while, it's just that it's been weird in the office or we run into each other with other people around who make it awkward obviously for you. I guess that's partly my fault,” Tristan's French-Canadian accent coming out strong and proud the longer he speaks. “I've seen you around, for a while now. I’ve been trying to catch your attention, but find it hard to distract you enough in the office. It’s Shayna right?”

Shayna gets the chills as he speaks. The sound of her name coming off his lips was enough to make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

“Yes, it is,” Shayna whispers.

“Your friend told me that” he nodded towards the other table, “and I might have seen your name on your cubicle, and you’re the only Shayna in the email we use…so, it’s not just you finding things out...” he smirks.

“Oh god,” Shayna drops her head to her hands laughing but clearly embarrassed.

Tristan went to speak again but was interrupted, “Last call, bar is closing in 15!” Zach calls out, ringing the ship bell above the register.

“Are you walking back with your friends?” Tristan asks finishing his drink up and setting the glass on the bar in front of him.

“Yeah” she nods, “Faith lives in the same building. Well, pretty much almost everyone does.” Shayna pushes her glass forward as she attempts to get up from the chair.

“As long as you're not alone,” Tristan holds out his hand noticing how unsteady Shayna is.

“These damn shoes,” Shayna curses as she stumbles, her heel catching the bottom rung of the stool. She reaches out to grab the bar but is intercepted by Tristan sliding an arm around her, preventing her from falling forward.

“I’ve got you,” he smiles pulling her away from the chair closer to him. Shayna feels her face flush. She can’t help but take in how strong his touch is, while still remaining gentle.

“I'm good, thanks,” Shayna forces a smile letting go of his arm quickly, as if it was on fire, and backing up to put space between them. “I'm just going to walk back to the table and collect Faith. Thanks for the drink before.” She rambles nervously.

“Sorry again for colliding with you…and thank you for my drink.” He smiles watching as Shayna steps backwards in the direction of her friends. “Goodnight Shayna.”

“Oh, yeah…um, goodnight to you too, Tristan.” Shayna smiles slightly turning to head back to the table. Faith is grinning along with Everly, Livy and Archer. “Not ONE WORD out of any of you, I'm going home.”

“Why don't you ask Tristan to walk you home?” Faith laughs nearly knocking over a cup in front of her. Shayna’s face drops to an 'I swear to god I will end you' face. “Whoa…Ok sorry, sorry. I'm coming.”

Shayna steps back and watches Faith slide out of the booth teetering on her heels.

“Ladies, we ready?” Logan appears behind Faith, holding her shoulders steady. “You ok there Faithy?”

“Yup, I'm good. Thanks,” she shrugs out of his grip with a smile. “Goodnight, friends!”

“Night!” Shayna waves still grimacing to her friends. She can see Tristan watching her from where he is standing with Casey at the door. She grabs on to Faith and walks her to the exit with her friends in tow.

“Goodnight Casey! Goodnight Trissss-tannn!” Faith smirks waving as they pass the two by the reception stand.

“You sure you're ok walking back?” Tristan asks as Shayna backs up to the door, her hand on Faith guiding her.

“Yeah, she's ok. Just extra giddy. I'll just take these off to be safe,” Shayna reaches down and plucks her shoes off. “We'll be fine. Just around the block. Thanks though.”

“Walk with us!” Faith grins, linking an arm with Tristan “pretend you’re a bodyguard!”

Tristan chuckles, “I'd feel better if you would let me walk with you and guide this one,” he insists, unlinking their arms, and putting his hand on Faith's shoulder with the other on the door above Shayna's shoulder.

“No, no, I'm ok.” Faith laughs moving forward out the door and out of Tristan's reach.

“I'll walk with you then,” he replies with a straight face as he holds the door open. “No one else is going back to that building, I just want to be sure you’re safe.”

“If you insist,” Shayna shakes her head walking under his arm and out the door of the bar.

Tristan, Shayna and Faith head towards the girls’ apartment building in awkward silence. Less than two minutes later they approach the glass doors to the lobby. Brilliant lights from the well decorated lobby area light up the sidewalk outside.

“This is us, see not far. No one's gonna kidnap us,” Shayna mutters, holding the door open for Faith to walk in. “The front desk here will make sure we get upstairs. Thanks.”

“Goodnight, Tristan, be nice to her!” Faith smirks “I'll just leave you two alone. I'll get my bag from your car in the morning Shay,” Faith waves to them walking over to the elevators.

“No, no I'm coming too…” she turns to Tristan “Thanks again for walking with us, you really didn’t have to…” Shayna tries to walk through the door but Tristan grabs her hand. She turns to look up at him then down at his hand mouth slightly agape.

“Sorry,” he timidly whispers letting go of her hand. “Have a good night. See you at the arena?” He's trying hard to not smile at her.

“Yeah, of course,” Shayna forces a smile and walks past the security desk as she looks back to him. “Goodnight Tristan.”

By the time Shayna makes it to the elevators, Faith is already gone upstairs. She decides to grab the stuff from her car to have it in her apartment whenever Faith decides to surface later in the day. The elevator arrives with a soft chime, doors opening so Shayna can walk through. She presses the button for the garage level and steps back to rest against the railing. The doors close revealing her reflection in the polished steel. Her face is bright red, flushed with a look of amazement, her shoes in her hand.

“What the hell just happened?” she says to her reflection slightly smiling and shaking her head.

Shayna walks out to her car in the parking level, she grabs her bag as well as Faith's. She notices the jersey she just bought hanging off of the back of the seat, silently laughing as she runs her fingers across the name plate. Pleasant chills goose bump her skin as she picks it up gathering it close to her. She locks her car and heads upstairs to her apartment.

*****

“So, what do you think?” Faith clutches a cup of coffee to her curled up on the plush couch in Shayna's apartment with a Scarlet blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

“I have no idea honestly. It was so awkward sitting there with him. He said that he wanted to talk to me but either it's been at the office or I'm with people. Who says that? Why not in the bar? Oh wait, that’s right, you guys make it even worse,” Shayna sighs rolling her teacup around the counter top of her breakfast bar looking at Faith.

“Nah, it was all in good fun. Besides we only played the one song because it was funny. He said nothing other than that? Homeboy needs to step up his game,” Faith scoffs pulling the blanket closer.

“We'll see what happens if I run into him again. I mean, obviously I will, but realistically speaking if he says anything, that will be interesting,” Shayna gets up from her chair, dropping her cup into the sink.


	2. It Tears My World Apart.....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same as before.... Why is Tristan so weird? There's big moves coming to the team! STAY TUNED! lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same thank yous. Same everything.... 
> 
> Chapter title is from "Loved You First" by One Direction. Seemed fitting for what's going to go down. ;)

Chapter 2

Monday morning comes sooner than expected. The office is quiet other than a few phones ringing and the usual operations going on. There is no game today but the team is in for practice. Shayna decides to head outside to the little deli across the street from the arena for lunch. It's a decent day weather wise, which is rare for Seattle, so it makes sense for her to enjoy it while she can.

Stepping outside the VIP entrance, she notices some of the players beginning to arrive. Carefully avoiding the cars pulling into the Player lot, Shayna crosses over to the sidewalk. She waves to Logan as he walks towards the door she just came out of. Just getting to the end of the small street, Shayna hears a horn beep at her as she approaches the corner about to cross.

“Hey.”

Shayna looks up to see a black Ford pickup truck in front of her, the passenger window down with Tristan at the wheel.

“Hi Tristan,” Shayna waves, trying not to grin like crazy at the fact that Tristan has stopped to talk to her.

“Where are you off to? Leaving already for the day?” he smiles as he leans over the console between the seats still keeping one hand on the wheel. Shayna can see he's dressed in typical workout clothes, black unzipped Scarlet's track jacket with a worn in grey v-neck tee underneath which has shifted some showing off a hint of clavicle and his gold chain.

“I was.... was just going to get some lunch. It's lunch time. I said that already didn't I? Yes, sandwich,” Shayna tries not to look directly at Tristan as he starts laughing at her stuttering. She takes a deep breath and focuses on door handle of Tristan's truck.

“Alright, sounds fun. Enjoy that sandwich. I'll see you around maybe after practice, yeah?” he laughs a bit harder leaning back in his seat.

“Yeah, I'll be around I'm sure,” Shayna smiles looking back up in the window to Tristan who is biting his lower lip as if he wanted to say something else. Shayna waves and walks around the back of the truck to continue on the way across the street.

****

“Big meeting right now, you coming in the conference room, Shay?” Faith asks knocking on the small wall of Shayna's cubical.

“Yeah, I'm just grabbing my notepad. I wonder what's going on. I had no idea we were having a meeting,” Shayna replies as she opens up a desk drawer to grab out a yellow legal size notepad.

The two girls walk down the hall to the biggest conference room the office holds. Walking in they notice JP standing at the head of the table with a file in his hand shuffling through some papers, Coach St. Claire is sitting to his right talking to a few of the trainers. Michael Murray, the team's General Manager is sitting to the left of JP looking through his own papers. Faith turns and raises an eyebrow to Shayna behind her causing Shayna to shrug at her. They take a seat towards the back far end of the table.

“Good, everyone's here? Seats please,” JP announces over the voices in the room, closing his file and placing it in front of him on the wooden table. “So, as we all know Mack suffered an injury last game and while it's not that serious, I feel that we need someone to replace him. Upon further talks with Michael we've decided not to go with a younger player or anyone to bring up from Bridgewater. We've been discussing it and it seems like Oliver Moreno has expressed interest in coming back. Our scouts have been watching him from the beginning of the season while he trains locally and even though he was bought out from his previous contract I personally think he would be a great asset to the team right now. He would be excellent on the wing. We need someone fast and willing to score--”

A loud crash stops JP from speaking causing everyone to look around the room. There is a glass shattered in front of Faith on the conference table. Shayna raises an eyebrow to her best friend who is glaring down the table.

“Is there a problem Faith?” JP asks looking from Faith to the glass on the table.

“No. Not at freaking all. So you're saying he's coming back here? Here to this team? As in returning?” Faith grimaces, her fist clenching the pen in her hand bending it almost in half.

“Yes, speaking of which we will have to accommodate him. I believe he's staying in his condo on the marina so just check in with him that he doesn't need anything residential wise, Shayna. Faith, we will need to either call a press conference or just a quiet media release, which ever you think is best. I'd like to do it by 3 today ok? Anyone else have anything to add? He'll be here in about 45 minutes” JP checks his watch and nods to Michael. “Nothing? Ok, good. I'll meet with you girls around 2:30. Thank you everyone.”

Chatter starts up again in the room, some of the trainers standing to leave. Shayna goes to stand, grabbing her notepad assuming Faith is right behind her when she hears the crunch of plastic. Faith drops the pen she just cracked in her hand to the table and turns to face Shayna. Shayna bites her lip in amusement and shakes her head at her.

“You think this is funny don't you?” Faith glares at Shayna getting up from her chair. The two start walking to the door together.

“You've been on me about Tristan since Saturday, well actually, you’ve been on me forever practically and I finally get to return the favor for once. Can you blame me?” Shayna grins. “It's like Christmas right now!”

“No, no it's not. You don't understand the heartbreak that I went through when Ollie left. Jesus Christ, he's coming here in 45 minutes. I have to go...” Faith panics picking up her stride down the hallway waving around her notepad. “I'll see you later!”

Shayna laughs to herself as she turns in the other direction to head back to her desk.

“Heads up Shay, you have someone at your desk,” Leah at reception yells out from her desk by the elevators as Shayna walks by.

“Oh, I don't have anyone for a meeting do I? Ah crap, I hope I didn't forget.” Shayna stops at the desk to look over the log book. “Who is it?”

“I was told I can't say if you ask,” Leah shifts nervously.

“Right, ok, thanks for that,” Shayna scoffs turning away trying her best not to say anything rude. Sighing she walks across to the hallway leading to her desk.

Walking up she can see soft spiky dark brown hair from above the cubicle divider which looks to be sitting in her chair moving around. Her breath catches in her throat, while trying not to get herself too excited. Taking a deep breath, she continues walking, mentally reminding herself to stay cool. She coughs trying to get the attention of the person sitting at her desk.

“Is this me from my first season?” Tristan asks as he holds up a photo he's plucked from the collage of pictures tacked to Shayna's cubicle wall while still looking at the others. He's holding up a picture of the two of them from two years ago at the team's Opening BBQ celebration, Shayna grinning wearing a Scarlet home jersey, Tristan looking uncomfortably awkward in a black golf polo in front of a team backdrop. Tristan had just been called up from Bridgewater three weeks prior after doing well in Rookie Camp and impressing the coaches, earning him a spot on the team.

“No, it's obviously a player we had previously on the team before your arrival,” Shayna deadpans, taking the photo from his hand. He turns back to the rest of the photos, fingers running across them as he looks.

“I'm also your desktop computer picture, too. I'm flattered,” he grins looking over his shoulder, his eyes full of amusement glittering in the fluorescent light above him.

“Office policy to have a team photo as the desktop since it is their property. Can I help you Tristan? This is really unnecessary right now,” Shayna hugs herself, a little uneasy as she watches him look over her pictures while leaning across her desk as his grey tee clinging to his back, his shoulder blades flexing as he reaches out to each picture. Shayna can feel her mouth going dry.

“I said I'd say hi after practice. I came up and you weren't here so I made myself comfortable. It seems you and your friends like to have fun and have been fans for a long time,” he muses pointing to the pictures.

“I've been a fan of hockey ever since I was little. I've been able to skate since I could walk thanks to my grandfather who used to coach. Faith and I became friends years ago thanks to the team and luckily enough we ended up working together for our favorite team,” Shayna smiles warmly remembering memories of her grandfather as she pins the picture Tristan just gave her back on the wall in its spot.

“You can skate?” Tristan drops his hand as he turns the chair facing her, his mouth agape slightly.

“Yes. I have skates and everything. Really nice pair of Bauer X90s too that cost a pretty penny might I add,” Shayna adds putting her hand on her hip.

“When can we go skating? You know what, I'll be right back,” he grins, all perfect white teeth and cheek bones as he gets up from her chair closing the space between them. Shayna looks up at him, cursing the fact she wore flats today, raising an eyebrow at him as he side steps her to the hallway. He looks to JP's office across the hall noticing it was empty. He turns back around, smiles at Shayna and makes his way past her cubicle.

“I have work to do just so you know,” she yells at him as he strides down the hallway. He waves his hand up saying nothing as he disappears around the corner to the main floor. “I have work to do....”

Shayna slumps into her chair noticing the overwhelming smell of Tristan in her cubicle. She looks up to the picture of the two of them he was admiring from earlier smiling to herself. Remembering she has work to do, she turns to her computer and gets started.

Twenty minutes later, Shayna's phone rings stirring her out of her work.

“Oliver is in the building. OLIVER. IS. IN. THE. BUILDING. I'll see you in ten minutes.” Faith screeches into the phone and hangs up. Shayna laughs placing the receiver in the cradle.

Turning back she gathers up all the stuff she just researched into a folder, grabs her notepad and gets up to head back to the conference room.

“Good Shayna, you're here. I don't know if you've met Oliver yet,” JP gets up from his chair at the head of the table and steps back so Oliver can get up and reach his hand out.

“Oliver Moreno,” Oliver repeats as he shakes Shayna's hand.

“Shayna Cavalcante, nice to meet you,” Shayna nods. “I'm supposed to ask if you have housing at the moment. I assume you do?”

“I still own my condo over by the marina. I'm good on that front thanks,” Oliver sits back in his chair smiling.

“Awesome,” Shayna takes her folder to the other side of the table. “I guess since that's taken care of I'll just sit and take notes if you need anything else JP?”

“Yes, that would be great thank you. Where’s your partner in crime?” JP asks looking at his watch “it’s not like her to be late…”

“Oh, she should be up here shortly, we just spoke a moment ago and she was on her way” Shayna replies smiling looking toward the door.

Faith was trying to pull herself together, while inside she was falling apart. She stood staring at herself in the restroom mirror, sighing softly while applying a fresh coat of lip gloss. She spoke softly, trying to reassure herself that she could face Oliver again. “Faith, this is business, the personal side of things can wait. Ollie is a client, JP is your boss…just do your job” She knows JP gets unhappy if she keeps him waiting, so she turns on her heel and heads for the conference room.

Faith pauses outside of the frosted conference room door, subconsciously playing with the cross necklace she has dangling around her neck. She hears JP talking and watches the shadows through the frosted windows. With a deep breath she tucks the cross back into her blouse, and opens the door walking in with her head high. “Sorry I’m late JP, I just wanted to make sure I had everything in order for the press. I decided to go with a blanket statement and not to go ahead with a full out press conference.”

“No big deal Faith. I’d like you to meet Oliver Moreno. Oliver, Faith McCallium” JP gestures towards Oliver who is sitting just to his left. Oliver sat staring up at Faith with wide eyes, almost as if he’s seen a ghost.

“Yeah, we’ve met” Faith shrugs looking back to JP. “I figured that they would have far too many questions about Mack and what his status was, how long he will be out of the lineup, when we decided that bringing back a player who deserted his franchise was a smart move, especially since everyone who ever owned a Seattle Scarlet jersey can’t stand the sound of his name, and honestly, I didn’t have time to put that kind of information together for you, JP”

Shayna, who is sitting one row away from Oliver shoots Faith a look of disbelief that she just spoke those words in front of not only Oliver, but JP as well.

JP stares at Faith with fire in his eyes, obviously embarrassed. He was rendered almost speechless at her unprofessional manner, “Faith, I um… I don’t think that it’s necessary to-”

“No Jordan, it’s ok…” Oliver interjects giving him a pat on the shoulder “it’s ok… she’s right.”

Faith shifts her gaze to Oliver. A simple red Scarlet t-shirt, logo hat and jeans has never looked so inviting. She foolishly lets herself find his big chocolate brown eyes, and instantly a million memories flood through her mind. Shaking her head quickly she turns her attention back to JP.

“I’ve printed you both copies of what will be going out to the media” she placed two red folders embossed with the Scarlet logo on the desk in front of them “I just need your go-ahead before I send them off…” Faith pulls at the hem of her jacket, realizing she needs to remove herself from Oliver’s presence. The desire to reconnect with him was a battle she could no longer fight.

“JP if you’ll excuse me… I have a lot of work to do.” She quickly gathers her loose papers and heads for the door “I’ll be in my office” Faith hollers behind her as she exits the room.

*****  
Faith sits quietly in her office with the lights off, only the glow of her computer screen illuminating the room. A quiet knock stirs her from her thoughts as she hears the handle click open.

“Faith…” Shayna peeks her head in “you in here?”

“If I said no…will you leave me alone?” Faith turns slightly in her chair, looking over at Shayna, her eyes bloodshot, mascara lines running down her cheeks.

“Nope” She frowns. “Faith…what’s gotten into you today?” Shayna plops down in one of the guest chairs, flipping the light on “Lord look at you!” she passed her a kleenex “Really? All this over Oliver?”

Faith sighs, shaking her head and turns back to her monitor “You wouldn’t understand Shayna… I just can’t be around him right now. I can’t be HERE right now.” She presses a few keys on the keypad and her computer screen goes black “If JP needs me, tell him I had to take a personal day for the rest of the afternoon.” Faith reaches for her pocket book, and drops her cellphone inside “Please. I just need to be alone…”

Shayna frowns giving Faith a sympathetic pout before giving her a hug “I’ll be back to the apartment around 5… can we talk about this then?”

Faith shrugs and nods “I guess so…” before heading out the door.

******

Shayna unlocks her door turning on the light in the entrance hall of her apartment. She drops her work bag and purse on the floor by the table, and places her keys on the small hook beside the door. Carrying her mail to the breakfast bar she flips through to make sure nothing of importance is there, putting it into the basket on the counter. She continues on into her bedroom, kicking off her shoes in her closet.

After she changes into a pair of comfortable jeans and a plain black tee, she grabs a can of soda from the fridge and hops on the couch.

“Property Brothers should be on....” she laughs to herself as she turns on the TV.

A buzzing noise from her purse by the front door reminds her that she left her phone on silent. She gets up heads to the hallway, she grabs her purse from the floor and tossing it on the counter pulling her phone out. She notices she has two missed calls and three texts from Zach at Nautical Mile.

 **Zach: (4:43pm)** _Shayna, what happened to Faith? Is there a reason why she requested the full bottle of Patron? I really don't want to give it to her but she threatened me._  
 **Zach: (5:12pm)** _Honestly, I'm scared. :[ Maybe you should come down here. I wouldn't bother you if I wasn't genuinely concerned. That's what being a good friend is right? Not just a bartender right?_  
 **Zach: (5:35pm)** _Ok, pleeeeeease come down here and maybe collect her? :/_

Shayna sighs, clicking Zach's name to give him a call. He picks up within two rings.

“Shayna? Oh god, thank you. I wouldn't bother you but maybe you should come down here. It's getting interesting.” Zach whispers in to the phone.

“Is she ok? It’s bad?” Shayna gets up from the couch again and heads to her room to pick up a black pair of Vans sneakers from her closet. “You didn't give her the bottle right? Why would I ask that, you're responsible?”

“No, I didn't. I just left it so she could see it from my side. What happened to her?”

“Oliver is coming back to the team but I mean.... I guess it's serious? I'm not entirely sure. I'll be down in like five. I'm putting on my shoes.”

“Alright, I'll see you soon. I told you I would call Shayna....” Zach says as he hangs up obviously talking to Faith on the other side.

Shayna laughs as she ties her shoes letting the call disconnect automatically. She runs into the bathroom to check her hair deciding to throw it up into a messy bun. Grabbing her wristlet from her purse on the counter she puts her phone in her back pocket as she walks to the door grabbing her keys. She locks her door and heads for the elevator bank.

Two minutes later Shayna is walking through the doors of Nautical Mile. She greets the reception nodding to the bar. Zach is washing pint glasses as she approaches the bar top.

“Hey, where is she?” Shayna asks scanning the room for Faith who isn't sitting anywhere inside.

“She went outside. I refused to give her anymore so I gave her some water and told her to get fresh air. She's sitting on the patio sulking probably,” Zach points to the patio doors.

“Thanks for letting me know, I'll see what's up,” Shayna smiles sadly as she walks out the door to the patio. Faith is curled up on the navy blue oversized outdoor couch looking out to the marina. Her discarded glass of water is on the concrete fire pit in front of her, a sad look on her face.

“Hey buddy,” Shayna announces as she walks closer to Faith taking a seat on the couch across from her. “How's it going?”

“He really called you didn't he? I'm not completely wasted just so you know,” Faith whispers as she turns to look at Shayna.

“If you have to tell me that, you have to be half in the bag. You know how it works with us,” Shayna laughs as she sits back on the couch pulling her foot up and underneath her other leg. “What's the matter, boo? I feel like something is missing here that I don't know about and that's bothering me a little.”

“Oliver is the problem. I didn't think I would see him again,” Faith sighs running her hand through her brown hair. “I never really told you everything that happened...”

“So tell me. Do I need a drink for this?” Shayna asks smirking.

“Bring me the bottle,” Faith nodded making grabby hand gestures to Shayna. Shayna laughs and gets up to go back inside to grab them drinks.

A few minutes later, she hands Faith a fresh drink and reclaims her seat across from her.

“So, back story. You of all people know how much I loved Ollie before I landed my internship with the Scarlet, right?” Faith starts after she's taken a long sip of her drink.

“Yeah, I do. Please, do I remember? Remember that time I bought his jersey at the beginning of the season he left and I wanted to burn it and dump it into the marina and you refused to let me do it and then I ended up gifting it to you for your birthday.” Shayna laughs, the ice in her glass clinking softly as she shakes from laughter.

Faith giggled “I still have that jersey you know…” she sighs softly looking out at the water. “Aside from that…there’s a lot more to the story than me just being sad he left, Shay…” she frowned.

“Ollie and I, we… Well, we kinda...” she smiled a little dancing around the subject. “How do I put this tastefully…”

Shayna’s eyes grew wide in disbelief, able to read what her best friend was insinuating. “NO WAY!?”

Faith chuckles quietly, “Yeah, I mean don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t anything serious.” Her smile slowly dropping off. “At least to him it wasn’t anything serious, but Ollie and I were pretty hot and heavy when he was in town. God it was almost that whole year I interned with the Scarlet.” Faith turns to Shayna with a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry I never told you. We both agreed that no one could know anything about it. He was playing the best hockey he ever played and I’m sure I would’ve lost my internship. I didn’t sleep with him to get a job or anything. I just…” Faith shrugs sadly. “He made me feel things I’ve never felt before.”

The realization of why Faith had been so bitter all these years was finally starting to sink in. She wasn’t sad he left the Scarlet; she was devastated that he left her.

Shayna nods moving over to the spot next to Faith, wrapping a supportive arm around her. “Why didn’t you guys try long distance? Lots of people do that.”

“We talked a couple of times after he left, but it just didn’t work. He was always too busy, or too tired, or some other excuse not to call me back. The time zone change, his schedule was hectic, he ‘needed to focus’... Besides, things weren’t ever supposed to be serious between us.” Faith smirked turning a bright shade of pink. “It was more like ‘oh I’m having a rough day come up to my office’ or “I’m really sore from practice meet me in the locker room’ stress relief for a lack of a better term?”

Shayna gives her a look and busts out laughing. “How the hell did I not know this? I’m so mad I had no idea!” she shook her head. “But really! The locker room!?”

“I can say no more, I’ve already said too much,” Faith giggles shifting on the sofa, pulling out the cross necklace from under her collar. “He left this at my apartment the night before he announced he was leaving. I normally went to his place, but he insisted on coming over that night. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but when I woke up, he was gone and this was lying next to me in bed. I threw it on so I wouldn’t lose it, and haven’t taken it off since. I guess now that he’s going to be around I should give it back to him.”

Shayna nods “You could….but that would involve talking to him?” she made a face “which we’d probably need to work on, considering how this afternoon went…”

Faith grimaces thinking about her rant in the conference room “Oh God don’t even remind me.” She sighs running a hand through her hair “I should apologize to him tomorrow…both of them actually, right? Yeah..I should. Was JP pissed? That’s a stupid question, of course he’s pissed…did Ollie say anything?” she asks with sad eyes.

“Actually…” Shayna chuckles a little cutting her off “Oliver couldn’t keep his eyes off you while you were talking to JP, and he fidgeted for the rest of the meeting after you left…”

Faith’s head turns back to Shayna quickly as her heart skipped a beat. “Really?” a slow smile creeping across her faith

Shayna shrugs finishing off her drink “Really…but Faithy…you have to think about what you want.”

“What do you mean?”

Shayna points directly behind Faith, who turns her head….. Hunter.

*****

“Yes, I’ve already talked to Mark in equipment, Oliver has his jerseys done and stitched up. I’ve sent word to legal for merchandising on Moreno tees to be made as soon as possible. Don’t know who would want one though,” Shayna scoffs receiving a scowl from JP.

“Come on, not you too?” JP rolls his eyes as he rolls back from his desk. “I get it, I’m a fan of the team too but…”

“I’m going to keep it professional of course, Jay. I would never say anything like that to his face,” she grins big and bats her eyelashes. “Sober….”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just go do your job thanks. Oh and one more thing. Let maintenance know to keep the house lights on after the game tonight. The concourse can be shut down, just the ice, lower level by the locker rooms and such can stay on. Someone asked for ice time and has something going on, I don’t know. Also can you go down to the locker room and ask Coach for his final line up?” JP shuffles through some of the paper on his desk trying not to laugh.

“Gotcha, will do. Is email broken today? Can’t he email you the line up?” Shayna scribbles the notes on her notepad, grimacing at the fact she’ll have to go down to the locker room area.

“Yeah, I know but something is down with his computer and IT is down there, just take a walk for me? Please?” He pouts looking at her with sad eyes obviously trying really hard.

“I’m sure that works on Audrey, but…. Fine. Fine. You owe me,” Shayna drops her head back with slumped shoulders. “OWE ME.”

“Love you Shay!” JP laughs as she turns to walk out of the office muttering to herself.

Shayna stops by her desk, dropping her notepad on her desk and grabs her phone. Checking to make sure there are no messages, she heads down the hall to the elevators. The doors open with a soft chime, chatter from the interns walking out bring Shayna to attention. She steps inside, pressing the button for the lower level. Seconds later, the doors open and she steps out gingerly looking around the hallways.

“Really, you would think I was scared or something…” Shayna reprimands herself walking to the locker room doors. She glances at her cell phone to see what time it is hoping the team has headed home for afternoon rest before they have to be back by 3pm for the game this evening. It’s 12:45 so she might have missed them.

Taking a deep breath she opens the doors following the red carpet in the big Scarlet logoed hallway. She walks along looking at the wood paneled walls full of all the accomplishments of the team. Five Championship banners, numerous conference title plaques, and pictures of previous teams litter the walls. Shayna continues on walking, opening the heavy wooden door walking into the open floor of the locker room where the team stalls are.

Thankfully for Shayna it looks as if no one is in the locker room except for a few trainers cleaning up gear from practice this morning. She waves to them as she walks over to the coach’s office knocking on his door. He signals for the door to be open.

“Hi Coach St. Claire, JP would like your roster for this evening if you’ve had it done?” Shayna smiles pleasantly. Coach St. Claire looks up from the opposite side of his desk that he usually occupies.

“Yes, yes, hold on. Sorry for the mess, IT has been here all morning wrecking everything,” he sighs getting up from his chair, shuffling piles of books and papers on his desk looking for the roster sheet. “Yes, here it is. Tell him if anything this should be solid. Michael will be confirming it around 3. I don’t think we will have any game time scratches. Thanks.” He holds out the paper for her take.

“Thanks Coach,” Shayna replies taking the paper from him, turning to leave the office. She closes the door behind her, catching the glimpse of white waving around front of her. Looking up, she sees Gavin drying his hair with a towel sitting in his stall, Sava Kopecky sitting across from him, and Oliver sitting taking his skates off.

“Hey,” Shayna hears to her left. Turning she sees Tristan standing there clad in only a white towel and black Nike flip flops. He wipes some of the excess water from his eyes, shaking out his hair, running his hand down to smooth it out. “Talk about awkward situations eh?” He grins.

Shayna has been rendered speechless as her eyes go wide taking in all of Tristan standing in front of her. Water clings to his damp skin across his broad shoulders, his gold necklace holding a single ‘D’ pendant gleaming in the light above, sitting on his chest. The outline of his toned abs flex slightly as he breathes in. He smirks, waving his hand in front of Shayna to get her attention.

“Oh Jesus, I’m s-sorry, I have to go….” Startled Shayna starts to fan herself with the paper, her face turning a bright shade of red as she steps back to make her way to the door still looking at him. As she steps backwards, still gaping at Tristan, she starts to stumble over the edge of the carpet runner. Tristan grabs her wrist pulling her forward towards him, steadying her with his other hand on her arm. Mortified Shayna squeezes her eyes shut, holding her breath, the paper in her hand crunching.

“Shayna,” Tristan whispers. She can feel his breath on her forehead, his large fingers squeezing her arms slightly. Shayna opens her eyes slightly, looking up over her glasses. He’s looking at her, his head tipped down so she is at eye level with his mouth, his blue eyes soft and inviting. Shayna starts to lean into him.

Whistling starts behind them bringing them out of the trance they’ve entered.

“Deniiiiiiii! Yeah buddy!” Oliver whistles from his stall. Tristan blinks, deflates his shoulders and lets go of Shayna as he turns to glare at Oliver. Kopecky is grinning from ear to ear. Gavin is sitting with his towel over his head with the corner in his mouth clearly amused.

“I’ve….. Uhhhh,” Shayna whimpers from behind Tristan. She side steps behind him, quickly striding to the door not looking back as she opens the heavy wooden door to the paneled hallway.

Once the door has closed behind her, she stops buckling in half, hands on her knees, as she takes deep breath to steady her head.

****  
Shayna heads home a short while before the game prep begins. Usually, she never misses a game but she’s unsure if she can face Tristan after what happened in the locker room earlier in the day. She knew he wasn’t scratched tonight so she wouldn’t have the chance of running into him on the suite level.

Her phone vibrates from her dresser as she’s getting changed, bringing her out of her thoughts. She hasn’t looked at it since earlier in the afternoon. Checking it, she notices she has missed calls and texts from Faith.

 **Faith: (2:37pm)** _Just saw your boy in the hall. His ass got bigger I think ;)_  
 **Faith: (2:44pm)** _I repeat, just saw YOUR BOY in the hall. AND CHECKED OUT HIS ASS. Also, he has rather nice thighs. GOD BLESS COMPRESSION SHORTS._  
 **Faith: (3:37pm)** _Are you dead?? Nothing on the compression shorts? Really? :/_  
 **Faith: (4:01pm)** _I haven’t heard from you all day. WHAT THE HELL?_  
 **Faith: (4:14pm)** _Don’t make me come up there. Do you know what I’ve been dealing with all day?_  
 **Faith: (4:21pm)** _Elevators at 5?_  
 **Faith: (4:49pm)** _I don’t see you. Are you in the office? Did you go down without me?_  
 **Faith: (4:53pm)** _WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? ARE YOU OK? HAVE YOU BEEN KIDNAPPED?_  
 **Faith: (4:55pm)** _YOU WENT HOME? WHAT HAPPENED? WHO DO I HAVE TO KILL? ARE YOU SICK? ANSWER ME!_  
 **Faith: (4:56pm)** _I AM COMING TO THE APARTMENT. YOU DON’T MISS GAME DAY. THAT’S RULE NUMBER ONE. I WILL KEEP TEXTING YOU IN CAPITAL LETTERS TO GET MY POINT ACROSS._  
 **Faith: (5:01pm)** _I AM ON MY WAY._

Shayna laughs as she puts the phone down to grab a Scarlet tee out of her closet to throw on. Just as she's picking the phone back up to text Faith, there is a pounding on the door. She heads out of her room to answer the door hearing the yelling of her best friend on the other side.

“Where are you? I saw your car, I know you are here. Answer this door right now,” Faith's loud voice can be heard clearly with the door between her. Shayna opens the door and smiles. “What the freaking hell is wrong with you? It's game day!” Faith pushes the door open walking past Shayna, dropping her purse on the counter on the way in.

“Complications,” Shayna sulks as she chews on her bottom lip.

“Complications? Are you for real? What do you mean complications?” Faith walks around the counter grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

“So, I went to the locker room today because god forbid JP leave his office. Coach's computer was broken and IT has been trying to fix it. Well here I am like, Jesus take the wheel, it's 12:45 please let the team be gone. I never saw Tristan-”

“TRISTAN?” Faith smirks cutting Shayna off. “Oh so we are going with first names now?” she raises an eyebrow with a grin and sitting at the breakfast bar top, elbows up with her head on her hands in amusement.

“Shut up. Anyway, I walk in and no one is there except equipment trainers cleaning up after practice. I go into Coach, do what I have to do, I'm almost there. I step out and there's Gavin, Oliver, and Sava. No, Oliver had clothes on, calm yourself.” Shayna holds up her hand at Faith’s wide eyes. “All of a sudden BOOM, there, in a towel and flip flops, is Tristan. ALL OF TRISTAN. Jesus, Faith, Jesus himself would not have been able to even come close to saving me. Splash does not even begin to describe this situation. He says 'Oh haha, talk about awkward situations.' Like honestly, what the hell? I panic obviously, I go to step to the side, and of course Klutz McGee comes out, I trip on the carpet runner and he grabs me. HE GRABS MY WRIST PULLS ME TO HIM, GRABS MY OTHER ARM,” Shayna waves her arms around as she laps around the sectional couch. “There we are, barely inches between us. I'm staring into his blue eyes. His blue eyes Faith.... they're so blue. Baby blue, sky blue, crystal blue.” Shayna drops to the chaise lounge of the couch. “We are standing there, him holding me, staring at me, me staring at him. The smell of his body wash, the heat coming off of him....”

“AND?! AND?!” Faith demands, leaning across the counter.

“And Oliver catcalls him. OLIVER CATCALLS AND WHISTLES.”

“Are you serious? I am going to smack him upside the head when I see him.... Jesus.” Faith throws her empty water bottle across the counter in disbelief.

“I took off. I hid in my office and then came home early. I don't know what would have happened, we were so close to kissing I could feel it,” Shayna whines, grabbing a throw pillow and putting it over her face.

Faith gets up from the counter, reaches over the back of the couch and grabs the pillow from Shayna. “Get up, we're going to the game.”

“I can't,” Shayna tries to grab the pillow back from Faith who is holding it above her head.

“Can't is not an option. Grab your ID and wallet. We going to the game, you're having a drink. Let's go. Put your sneakers on,” Faith reaches down and pushes Shayna up. “You dealt with my crap yesterday, my turn today. Now MOVE.”

“Fine, fine, pushy much?” Shayna sighs, rolling over to stand up. She walks to her room to grab her Vans and stops in front of her full size mirror to check out her outfit and hair. Nodding she walks out to see Faith holding her wristlet and phone.

“I'm going to the game and coming home. No post game for me,” Shayna glares at Faith taking her stuff.

“Fine with me. Let's go.” Faith laughs grabbing her purse from the counter and heads towards the door.


	3. I've got no control....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot line..... story...... stuff. :D LOL I just hope you're in enjoying it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same thanks and such. 
> 
> Title from No Control by One Direction. Honestly, their lyrics just work... maybe next one will change.... *shrugs*

Chapter 3

Shayna and Faith arrive in the Presidential Suite just before the National Anthem. Shayna grabs a beer from the refrigerator and takes a seat on the small glass of the uncovered level.

The game starts out slow. Tristan takes a penalty around the seven minute mark for tripping causing the team to go on the penalty kill. Hunter ends up on a breakaway and scores with thirty seconds left to kill. The team picks up momentum in the second period. As almost if to redeem himself, Tristan scores with huge slap shot from the point. The third period comes with a little frustration from the away team but with no success. The Scarlet win 2-0.

Shayna rides back to the apartment with Faith and decides to skip out on Mile.

“Come on, come out with us! The team won! It'll be fine. We will just hide you in the booth, we don't need to stay long!” Faith gives Shayna a pout with sad eyes trying to persuade her into changing her mind.

“Nah, I'm good. I said I was just doing the game. I'm just going to veg out on the couch. I'll see you tomorrow. Go ahead, go have fun.... just don't drunk call me ok,” Shayna laughs. Together they walk to the elevators, hugging before parting ways.

Shayna reaches her apartment, unlocking the door, kicking her shoes off as soon as she steps inside. She's just settles on the couch when her house phone rings. Sighing, she gets up and grabs it off the side table reading the caller ID for the reception desk of her building.

“Hey Rory, why are you calling me? Don't tell me Faith is at the desk trying to get me to come out.”

“No Shayna, there's a Tristan here for you. I've never really seen him before and he didn't know what number your apartment is. Hold on....” Shayna can hear the phone shuffle and muffled talking.

“Shayna,” Tristan's deep accented voice comes across her phone line giving her goosebumps. “Come down, bring your skates. I'll be outside. You have 5 minutes.”

“Are you serious right now?” Shayna scoffs.

“5 minutes. Skates. Downstairs. Move,” he laughs on the other end. “Seriously.” he mocks as the call disconnects.

Shayna looks at the phone in her hand clicking the button to shut it off. Shaking her head, she gets up from the couch, dropping the phone on the cushion and skips into her bedroom to the closet. She kneels down and grabs for her skates on the bottom shelf, making sure the guards are still on there. She only just used the skates about two months ago for a 'team building' event for the staff at the arena so they should still be sharp she notes. She grabs a tote bag from an upper shelf before she shuts the lights off in the room as she heads out to the kitchen area. Opening a drawer with dish towels, she grabs one and stuffs it along with the skates into the bag. She grabs her keys and phone and heads downstairs to the lobby.

Stepping out of the elevator she looks around to see if she can spot Tristan waiting. She can see his black truck outside the doors where he's standing leaning against the door. She smiles to herself, taking a deep breath so as not to look crazy as she walks outside to meet him.

“Just in time, I thought you weren't going to come down. I was getting nervous,” he greets her as he stands up, grabbing the handle to open the door for her. Shayna smiles, nodding as she climbs into the passenger side putting her bag on her lap as he closes the door.

“I went to Mile after the game and Faith told me you went home. I hope you weren't hiding from me because of what happened earlier today. I'm really sorry about that,” he says as he climbs into the truck with ease, putting the key in to start it up.

“No, not at all hiding really,” she meekly replies, thankful that it's dark so he can't see the sadness in her eyes. “It's alright.” She turns to look out the window, closing her eyes noticing the overwhelming smell of him inside the cab.

“Well, to make it up to you, we have permission to skate on the main ice. If that's ok with you, hence the skates,” Tristan smiles turning the truck into the players parking lot and turning off the truck.

Shayna smiles back as she opens the door to hop out. Tristan locks the truck and holds his hand out for her to head to the player entrance. Shayna opens the door and steps inside. She can feel him directly behind her.

“I just have to grab my skates from the locker room, do you wanna meet me out on the bench?” he asks as they stop by the doors leading to the paneled hallway and main locker room.

“Yeah, sure.”Shayna nods picking her bag up on her shoulder as she walks out the tunnel to the bench. She looks around at the silent arena. The concourse is dark, eerie almost. She steps up walking into the Scarlet home side dropping her bag as she sits on the bench. Smirking to herself, she takes her sneakers off neatly placing them under the bench. She unties her skates, taking the guards off and putting them to the side.

“Do you need help with tying those?” Tristan appears next to her in the small doorway to the tunnel.

“Why, are you going to be a gentleman and tie them for me?” Shayna laughs holding her skate out wiggling it.

“If you want me to,” he holds his hands out as he steps up to the bench, hopping on to the wall in front of her. “Lean back and put your foot up on my leg,” he pats his thigh.

“I can tie my skates thank you very much,” Shayna rolls her eyes at him earning a smirk. She tries not to lean forward anymore so she's not face to face with his crotch in front of her. She looks away down to her skate in her hands.

“Whatever you say,” he laughs as he slides a little to the left, lifting his legs up and over the boards just like it was a game. He starts taking laps around the boards.

A few minutes later, Shayna stands earning some clapping from Tristan as he stops short of the boards.

“Shut your face, honestly. I don't do this for a living mind you,” she sasses as she swings her legs over the boards dropping to the ice on her feet.

“Harsh,” Tristan pretends to look hurt, holding his hand up to his chest as he skates off ahead of her.

Shayna takes a couple of strides, trying to catch her balance. It's been a bit since she last skated for fun. She can hear Tristan behind her, his skates cutting the ice as he skates up.

“Going to show off are we?” Shayna tries to look unamused as he skates backwards, facing her smiling.

“Some of us do this professionally, it's not showing off.”

“Mmm, I see,” Shayna cuts away quick turning to the right towards center ice. She's gaining her speed back confidently, getting used to the skates. Tristan skates by, hands in his jean pockets nonchalantly. He starts circling her as she sprints down the ice to the goalie crease. She stops and stands in the blue paint.

“Playing goalie?” Tristan yells from the blue line.

“Not with you at the point that's for sure,” Shayna laughs. “Never.” She shrugs, skating back up to center ice past him. She stops at center ice and takes her phone out of her back pocket. She puts her skate on the circle, taking a picture.

“What are you doing?” Tristan asks as he skates up to her with a puzzled look on his face.

“Whenever my friends and I go skating, we always take a picture of our feet at center ice. Kinda like a tradition.”

“Am I allowed to be in the picture too? Or are we not friends?” Tristan skates closer to Shayna, sticking his foot out next to hers on the center ice marker.

“I mean, uh, I guess if you really want to. It's just a dumb thing,” Shayna coughs nervously as he gets closer to her. She holds her phone out, focusing on their skates below and takes the picture. “Came out good,” she smiles looking up to see him staring at her. He reaches out, pushing back a piece of stray hair that came across her glasses as she was looking down. His fingers linger in her hair behind her ear.

Shayna's breath hitches, her heart pounding through her ears. Tristan smiles as he closes the gap between them.

“I've wanted to kiss you so bad since the other day at the game. It was driving me mad trying to warm up knowing you were behind me watching from the box,” he nods towards the penalty box behind Shayna. “You looked so hot all nervous and bothered,” he whispers in her ear as he leans closer. His hand sliding to her lower back. “Did you enjoy watching me stretch?”

Shayna nods as she runs her finger across the hem of his soft black tee. “Maybe I did. Maybe I always do,” she smirks, reaching out for his gold chain. She catches her finger in his collar pulling slightly, dropping the chain underneath. His hand comes up behind softly tangling in her hair as he pulls her to him, their lips crashing together.

At first it's soft, his lips lightly touching hers as his hand caresses her hair. Noticing the awkward height difference, Shayna leans forward on her toes reaching up to hold on to his muscular shoulders. His lips feel plush and warm against hers as they continue, his hand gently tugging at her hair. She moans a little, tipping her head back hoping he catches the hint.

Tristan pulls her in tighter, his hand firm on her lower back as the tip of his tongue softly caresses her lower lip. Shayna parts her lips, her own tongue meeting his. Gently he swipes at her mouth before they break apart slightly breathless looking at each other. Tristan's pupils are wide with lust as he looks down in her eyes. She smiles up at him as she runs her finger across his jaw, enjoying the feel of his stubble.

“Shall we continue skating?” Shayna giggles dropping her hands down from his neck to his forearms, tracing circles on his skin just below his t-shirt sleeve.

“I suppose, if you would like,” Tristan smirks, leaning down pressing a kiss to her lips again. “If you are sure.”

Shayna smiles, “It would be a shame to let this all go to waste.” She laughs as she lets go of his arm skating backwards a little. “I would say tag, but let's be real, you can take me down easy.” She skates off down the ice, grinning to herself. She can hear his skates slowly come up behind her. Trying to be cute she takes off down the ice skating away from him smirking over her shoulder at him.

Tristan catches up reaching out to grab Shayna, catching her off guard causing her to stumble forward. He tried to catch her as she fell but ended up tumbling to the ice with her. The two of them lay tangled together on the cold ice, laughing hysterically. Tristan rolls to his back, his arm tucked under Shayna, wrapping around her pulling her close. She slides over, putting her arm across his chest snuggling up under his chin.

“Ok, so that didn't work out as I thought it was going to, I'm such a klutz. I'm so sorry,” Shayna blushes hiding her face in his shirt as he strokes her hair.

“It's alright, I'll always pick you up,” he chuckles. “I might laugh though, a little as long as you're not hurt. You're not hurt right?” he asks lifting her face to look at him.

“No, but I am cold,” she laughs looking at him. “We should probably get up.” He pulls her closer, his clear blue eyes looking deep into hers. Shayna shivers slightly a mix of the cold ice below her and his gaze on her.

“Alright, let's go. You're freezing!” he replies running his hand up her arm. “Goosebumps, poor thing.”

Shanya laughs, rolling off to the side sitting up. Tristan is on his skates already, his hands out to help her up. Collecting her to him, he reaches out and fixes her hair again pulling her close, placing a kiss to her forehead. She grins, blushing slightly.

“Ah, why not..” she whispers, grabbing his shirt pulling him close. She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling herself up to meet his lips. He willing obliges, bending down slightly to meet her, lips coming together this time a little more forceful. His hand tangled in her hair, his other securing the spot on her lower back again. Pressed against each other, their mouths fought for dominance, tongues dancing back and forth.

Shayna shivered, a mix of cold and pleasure running through her. He took notice, letting go slightly, breaking space between them.

“You're really cold aren't you,” he whispers, kissing her forehead again, running his hands up and down her arms. “Come on, I'll grab you my sweatshirt from the locker room.”

She nods, taking his hand as they skate off to the bench. He opens the door for her allowing her to step in and start collecting her shoes and bag.

“Bring them into the locker room, it's warmer in there,” he nods in the direction of the tunnel. He heads out in front of her, stepping down under the canopy before the tunnel. He holds out his hand so she can step down carefully. He smiles, pulling her under his arm, walking together into the locker room. He lets go as he walks to his stall, grabbing his black team sweatshirt off the hook holding it out to her. “Here, put this on.”

“Thank you,” she says dropping her shoes and bag on the floor accepting it from him, tossing it over her head pulling it on. It's very big on her, but warm. She smiles, sitting down in the stall next to him to take her skates off.

Tristan has his off in no time, putting them back up on the shelf of his stall where they belong. He looks down to her as she's tying her sneakers. “Give me your cellphone,” he says, holding out his hand.

Shayna goes to her pocket to pull out her phone, stopping suddenly, clutching the phone to her looking embarrassed.

“What's the matter?” Tristan questions still with his hand out. “I just wanna put my number in while you finish with your skates.” He beams, reaching out for her phone.

“I um, let me unlock it first. Wait no, oh god, just give me a minute, I'll take it from you,” she sits back in the stall, death grip on the phone trying to avoid his hand.

“Am I your lock screen too? Oh Shayna, you have it bad don't you?” he starts laughing. She looks down, flush coming across her face. “I'm kidding, again, flattered. Honestly. Hope it's a good picture too.”

“I might have stolen it from Instagram...” Shayna sighs as she clicks the home button illuminating the screen holding it up to show him. She closes her eyes, wincing. His fingers wrap around the phone, taking it from her.

“Oh, oh well... yeah this one. I'm drunk here. Stefan took this picture. You cropped him out didn't you? Oh that's funny,” Tristan snickers. “Nope, got the passcode wrong. Hmm, wrong again.”

“22-32. Yeah,” Shayna mumbles drying off her skates putting the guards back on. “That's actually my childhood address coincidentally.”

“Mmmm, sure.”

“No really! I swear, but it works. So, yeah are you done? God this is embarrassing.” she looks up to see him taking a picture of himself. “Uh, what?”

“I can't have you putting my contact picture as one of god knows what pictures you have of me. Gotta keep it more personal now that you know me and we are friends...” he winks at her as he hands her phone back. She looks at the screen at his contact information.

“You used the sunglasses face emoji? Are you serious?” Shayna laughs looking from the phone to him and back again. He shrugs at her smiling.

“Ready to go?” he asks grabbing her bag from the floor. She stands up, stretching a little with a yawn. “Mmm, I agree. It is late.” Tristan holds his hand out for her to take. They walk out to his truck in the player's parking lot. He opens the door for her, handing in her bag once she get's situated.

Two minutes later, they're pulling up to the front door of Shayna's building as Tristan puts the truck in park.

“Thank you for this,” Shayna grins turning to face him. “It was really wonderful.”

“You're welcome. I had a lot of fun. Kind of sucks the team has to go away for three days,” Tristan sighs, running his hand through his hair.

“Yeah, we'll talk though. I managed to score someone's number. Let me give you back your sweatshirt.” Shayna giggles sitting up reaching out for the bottom of the sweatshirt.

“No, no, don't worry about it. Give it back to me next time.” he beams, holding out his hand to stop her.

“Let me know when you get in ok? I get worried someone might kidnap you in this scary city,” Shayna replies trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, yeah. That's fine. Goodnight Shayna.”

“Goodnight Tristan.” Tristan leans over, kissing her cheek softly. Shayna takes a deep breath, reaching for the handle. She stops, reaches back and kisses him fully. He grins, touching her hair again.

“Goodnight.” he says again with a huge smile.

“Goodnight.” Shayna grabs the handle, her bag in her other hand and hops out of the truck. She walks to the glass doors, opening it, turning back to wave at the truck as she walks inside.

Once upstairs, she drops her skates by the breakfast bar and walks around dropping to the couch. She leans up, pulling the hood of the sweatshirt up around her head taking in the smell of what could be Tristan's shampoo. Laughing to herself she pulls her cell phone from the pocket and takes a picture of herself making sure to catch the 22 number on her right shoulder.

**Shayna (12:34am):** _Check this out. :D_  
**picture**  
 **Faith (12:39am): _YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME RIGHT? WHERE DID YOU GO? WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?_**  
 **Shayna (12:41am):** _A girl doesn't kiss and tell. :-*_  
 **Faith (12:42am): _Don't you give me that. You are going to tell me everything..... EVERYTHING._**  
 **Shayna (12:42am):** _I’ll come to your office tomorrow before you leave, I am exhausted._  
 **Faith (12:44am): _Like hell! You can’t go to bed without telling me what happened._**  
 **Shayna (12:46am):** _Short version – I had a date with Tristan <3 Details tomorrow. Goodnight pookie!_  
 **Faith (12:42am): _UGH!!! You are SO mean! :( FRIENDSHIP TERMINATED!! (Goodnight Boothang!)_**

Shayna chuckles and throws her phone on the table, nuzzling herself into the hood of Tristan's sweatshirt.

*****

“And then he was like ‘you’re freezing, lets go into the locker room’…” Shayna gushes, recalling every detail about their date. “and he gave me his hoodie and told me to keep it till he got back. Then he drove me back home, and that’s really it. Oh and we kissed again” she sighs, leaning back in the chair with a pout “I want to kiss him again.”

Faith giggles while stuffing some paperwork and her laptop in her carry-on bag “Oh girl, this is gonna be a problem, isn’t it?”

Shayna nods “I wish I could go with you, I’m so jealous!” she picks at one of her nails “Can you just cancel the road trip?”

“Oh yeah sure, sorry Florida Twisters, the Scarlet need to cancel their game in two days because my best friend is horny…I don’t think that would go over very well” Faith shakes her head with a laugh “On that note, I need to go. I don’t want to keep the team waiting, and god knows I don’t want to be stuck sitting in the back with the players” she sighed throwing on her suit jacket.

“Yeaaaahhhh, have fun in an enclosed space with Hunts and Oliver!” Shayna teases “I’d kill to be a fly on the wall on that flight.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha… I hate you” Faith gives her a look as she grabs her carry-on bag and throws it on top of her suitcase. “I have to go. Give me a hug!” she gives Shayna a hug, saying her goodbyes before heading down the hallway for the bus to the airport.

Dropping her bags off with the driver she sneaks onto the bus before anyone can see her. Moments later she is greeted by a warm body planting themselves in the seat right next to her. “Well hi, Trissssstan!” she smirks saying his name in an exaggerated, dreamy tone. “I haven’t heard your name in about 5 minutes, I was starting to go through withdrawals…”

“I figured sort of that Shayna would have told you things,” he chuckles, a light pink color coming to his cheeks.

Faith makes a fake gasping sound and nudges him. “Deni! Are you…BLUSHING?” she chuckled. “You ARE blushing. Mr ‘lets go ice skating so I can kiss you’ has a soft spot! You’ve got it pretty bad, eh?”

Tristan nodded fidgeting with the buttons on his suit jacket. “I do, I think” he smiled “but don’t tell the other guys. I don’t need a big scene to be made about this yet please.”

“Aww, Deni I won’t say anything!” Faith smiles at him reassuringly “Shayna is my best friend… I would never do anything to put her or her relationships at risk…” she turns her tone to the serious side “but if you break her heart, I will beat you mercilessly with that 10 foot hockey stick of yours.”

Tristan lets out a loud laugh and shook his head “I will try my best to not make that happen.”

****

Faith kicks back in her seat, thankful that the team plane affords her the luxury of having her own row of seats. She always sits in the same row, directly over the wing. The players often shuffle seats, sometimes discussing strategy, watching films of their upcoming opponents, or just chatting about the game. On long flights like this though, most of the team will be relaxing. They have a full two days in Florida before the game with the Twisters, so this trip affords them a bit more time to relax. She pops off her heels and makes herself comfortable, sprawling across all three seats. After throwing a pillow behind her head, she pulls out her laptop and begins working on the press release for the upcoming holiday charity events.

“You’re not actually going to work for this whole flight, are you?”

Faith smiles briefly, not looking up from her computer screen, continuing to work on her documents. She recognizes the delicious European accent instantly, but doesn’t want to give in to him that easily. “Some of us have big girl jobs that require us to work while traveling…” she pauses briefly “also, some of us want to spend tomorrow at the pool getting nice and tan.”

Hunter chuckles and gently lifts her feet off the chair, sitting down next to her. He places her legs back down across his lap and rests his arms across them, lightly running his hand up and down her calf “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to relax a little bit.” Faith tilts the lid of her computer screen down slightly taking in the man sitting next to her. She can’t help but smile.

“Hunts you know that relax really isn’t in my vocabulary unless alcohol is involved…and I really do have a lot of work to do.” Faith wiggles her freshly painted toes at him, “if it makes you feel any better, I relaxed alcohol free for a whole 45 minutes the other day while Halina painted my toes pink for Florida!”

Hunter took a hold of one of her feet, giving it a gentle squeeze, then repeats his actions with the other foot “You work too hard…”

Faith bites her bottom lip, clearly aware that no work is going to get done as long as Hunter has his hands on her. “I know I do…but that’s why I’m good at my job” she sat up a little bit in her seat. “How about this… you let me get my work done now, and we can have dinner later tonight in Miami?”

“We can do that…”He nods with a slow grin creeping across his face. “Or…how about you take a break from work now, and we skip dinner later” his eyes fixated on hers.

She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about Hunter Milda just sets her body ablaze. His offer is tempting to say the least. Before Faith has the chance to answer, a voice interjects from the row behind them “How about you just let the lady do her work. She’s told you she’s busy three times already.”

If it were possible for Faith's heart to skip a beat and drop at the same time, this would be the time. Hunter whips his head around, glaring over the seat between them “How about you mind your own god damn business?”

Faith peeks over the headrest to see Oliver leaning forward in his seat, obviously irritated from listening to their exchange. “Well Milda, Miss McCallum here IS my business” he speaks sternly, causing her stomach to do a cartwheel. “She told you she has work to do, so why don’t you go back with Kopecky and Gavs and let her do it.”

“Ollie-” Faith sighs

“Ollie?” Hunter raises an eyebrow turning quickly back to Faith. “Ollie?...Something you forget to mention to me?”

“HEY” Oliver snaps at him, standing up from his seat. He leans over the middle seat of the row in front of him, putting himself between Hunter and Faith. “She doesn’t owe you shit, Hunter. IF there was something she wanted you to know, she’d have told you”.

Faith slumps back down in her chair, closing up her laptop. “Guys come on…” she frowns.

Hunter has his attention focused on Oliver, ignoring any pleas from Faith “Why don’t you just mind your own damn business Moreno.” Hunter steps out of the row of seats into the aisle next to Oliver.

Oliver's short build is no match for Hunter, who has a good 6 inches of height on him. Yet seemingly unphased, Oliver counters, stepping up to him. “I already told you. Faith IS my business.”

“What the hell could she possibly want with a sell-out like you?” Hunter glares at him with clenched fists.

“ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU” Faith hollers between them. “You are EMBARASSING!” She huffs on the verge of tears, “Just STOP.”

Gavin, who has been quietly watching the scene unfold in the rows behind them, steps in to break up the pissing match. “You, Sit” he points to Oliver, “Hunter, come on” he gives his shoulder a shove towards the seats in the back of the plane.

Hunter reluctantly heads to the back after shooting Oliver an icy stare “We’re not finished yet.”

Faith reaches into her bag to get her headphones, just wanting to shut out the world. She unfolds her laptop once more, plugging in the earbuds. As she resumes her work the only thing she can focus on is trying to figure out what the hell she’s going to do about this situation.

****

Shayna hops on her couch with her cell phone and a bag of pretzels. After the Faith and the team left, she decided that being at the office wasn't necessary so she headed home to relax. She glances at her phone hoping there will be a message that will come through from Tristan.

“This is sad,” she scoffs at herself dropping the phone next to her. “Obviously there are rules for these sort of situations.”

Just then her phone vibrates on the cushion beside her. Before flipping it over she tells herself to be calm and collected. It could possibly be Faith for all she knows.

**Tristan (12:38pm):** _Hey._  
 **Shayna (12:39pm): _Oh, hello there. :)_**  
 **Tristan (12:41pm):** _How's it going?_  
 **Shayna (12:42pm): _Boring. Wait, how are you texting me? Are you trying to take down the plane?_**  
 **Tristan (12:44pm):** _ipad imessage. The plane now has wifi lol_  
 **Shayna (12:45pm): _Sounds fun._**  
 **Tristan (12:50pm):** _What is going on with Faith? The most awkward conversation going on right now across from me......_  
 **Shayna (12:51pm): _What do you mean?_**  
 **Tristan (12:53pm):** _Hunter sat down with her. Clearly something is going on there. Oliver just got in the middle of it and_  
 **Tristan (12:54pm):** _hold on......_  
 **Tristan (12:54pm):** _Oh this can't be good_  
 **Shayna (12:55pm): _What is going on?_**  
 **Shayna (12:59pm): _Tristan...... what happened? What's going on?!_**  
 **Shayna (1:00pm): _Oh god, I can't imagine what is going on right now_**  
 **Tristan (1:04pm):** _Sorry. Tense situation. Hunter and Oliver almost just fought. Gavs had to get up and haul Hunter away._  
 **Tristan (1:05pm):** _No fists yet_  
 **Shayna (1:06pm): _ARE YOU KIDDING ME?_**  
 **Shayna (1:06pm): _Sorry caps..... but holy crap?!_**  
 **Tristan (1:08pm):** _Do I get to know what that was all about yet?_  
 **Shayna (1:09pm): _Honestly, I'm not sure I get it completely?_**  
 **Shayna (1:09pm): _I guess Hunter has something for Faith? DRAMA.... go figure._**  
 **Tristan (1:11pm):** _They touch each other a lot_  
 **Tristan (1:11pm):** _You mean to tell me you don't notice it? Your friend walks around with half a shirt on when Hunts comes in the room..... lol_  
 **Shayna (1:12pm): _She does not.... ok maybe......_**  
 **Tristan (1:15pm):** _Well this trip should be interesting now_  
 **Shayna (1:16pm): _I'm sorry to hear that. :/_**

**Tristan (1:34pm):** _You should have come_  
 **Shayna (1:35pm): _There is no need for me to be there...._**  
 **Tristan (1:36pm):** _Sure there is_  
 **Shayna (1:37pm): _And that is?_**  
 **Tristan (1:40pm):** _Keep my sweatshirt warm..... ;)_  
 **Tristan (1:43pm):** _Do you have my sweatshirt on?_  
 **Shayna (1:45pm): _Wouldn't you like to know :p_**  
 **Tristan (1:46pm):** _I would...._  
 **Shayna (1:50pm): _* sends a selfie of her in the sweatshirt with the hood up slightly pulled over her eyes, grinning, the 22 visible on her shoulder *_**  
 **Tristan (1:51pm):** _That sweatshirt has never looked better :)_  
 **Shayna (1:52pm): _Nah, looks better on you...._**  
 **Tristan (1:53pm):** _doubtful_  
 **Tristan (1:54pm):** _I gotta go.... coach wants to talk tape._  
 **Tristan (1:54pm):** _Talk later? :)_  
 **Shayna (1:55pm): _Of course. I'll be around. Keep me posted. Safe flight!_**  
 **Tristan (1:57pm):** _I will. Bye Shayna_  
 **Shayna (1:59pm): _Byeeee Tristan!_**

******  
Faith pushes the small 38 on the elevator, finally getting the chance to go to her room. Between the chaos on the plane, organizing a group of stir-crazy players traveling from the airport and trying to check in 45 people to a hotel, all she wanted to do was take a long hot shower and change into some comfy clothes. Stress is not something that usually gets to Faith, but the altercation between Hunter and Oliver keeps repeating in her head and has been distracting her all afternoon. She slowly walks down the hallway towards her room, pausing outside her door to enter her key card. Faith walks in the entryway and is greeted by a huge sitting space equipped with a sofa, flat screen TV, and a fully stocked mini bar. Beyond that little area is a king bed perched just in front of a set of sliding doors which leads out to her balcony. She threw her bag down on the bed, kicking off her heels. Checking her watch for the time, she heads into the bathroom for a shower.

The steam from the water almost instantly fogs up the glass doors as Faith steps in. Despite the sweltering weather in Miami, the heat of the water was instantly relaxing. Her eyes close quickly trying to rinse the stress from her body. Her heart was beating a mile a minute thinking of all the things circling in her mind. She ducks her head under the hot spray trying to find some clarity. Where did she want things to go with Hunter? She has been trying for months to capture his attention, and now that she finally has it, Oliver is back in the picture. Why did Oliver get so upset? When did he change into such a fearless man who stood up to Hunter? Is this going to cause a problem for the team? Faith's thoughts are interrupted as she hears a loud thud. Concerns of someone being in her room taking over, she quickly shuts off the shower, throwing on one of the white fluffy robes. Peeking her head out of the bathroom she sees a room service cart sitting in the middle of her sitting area.

“Hello?” Faith raises an eyebrow while scanning the room for visitors. She is greeted with nothing but silence, as she makes her way over to the cart. A plain white envelope is sitting propped against the ice bucket, which is holding a rather large bottle of Champagne and a single red rose.

_I’m sorry about earlier.  
Let me make it up to you.  
Meet me in the restaurant at 7._

Faith walks over to her bed, grabbing her cellphone and flops down dialing Shayna.

“Hello, you’ve reached the Drama at 35,000 feet hotline, how may I direct your call?” Shayna chuckles.

“SHHAAAAAAAYNAAAAAAA,” Faith whines “This is a DISASTER!” she pouts, re-reading the card.

“I heard that there was a little bit of a cockfight on your flight…what the hell happened?”

Faith sighs throwing the card on the bed next to her “I don’t know! I was working, then Hunter came over and sat down and then I was talking to Hunter, and he wanted my undivided attention, and I was working, and he kept asking why I worked so much, and then I said we could have dinner, and then he said he wanted to skip dinner, and then Ollie told him to leave me alone, and then Hunter said to mind his own business, and then they went back and forth, and I yelled at them and Gavs had to break them up and then I got here and took a shower and someone was in my room, and there's a bottle of Champagne and a note BUT THERES NO NAME AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” Faith rambles on in one long breath. “Shayna what do I do? It says ‘Meet me in the restaurant’ and I don’t know who its from!”

“Wait, I’m still not caught up here… Hunter said he wanted to skip dinner?” she smirks with a chuckle. “Are you forgetting that he said that…? Hunter Milda just insinuated that he wants to spend alone time with you not eating food. Did you pack condoms?”

“SHAYNA FOCUS!” Faith yells exasperated “I’m serious, Shay. My pants only control SOME of my thoughts!” she huffed “but I bet hes a really good kisser…” a small smile spreads across her face.

“Ok ok I’m sorry,” Shayna laughs “but really Faithy, if its Hunter in the Lobby, you two can finally spend time alone and test the waters. See how you feel.”

“And if its not Hunter…” Faith bites her bottom lip.

“Well if its not Hunter, than you and Ollie can talk about everything you need to talk about. There's obviously some unresolved feelings on your end, and from the sounds of it, there's something going on in his head too, honey.”

Faith sighs propping herself up on her elbows “I guess I should get ready for my Mystery Date…”

“Call me the SECOND you get back to your room…”

“Thanks Shay” Faith smiled.

“Love you, Boo!”

*****

Faith sits anxiously at the bar in the restaurant, waiting for her mystery man to arrive. Sipping on a glass of Chardonnay, she scans the tables for familiar faces with no avail. A strong arm slides around her shoulders, pulling her from her thoughts, causing her to flinch with a gasp. She whips her head around, finding herself eye to eye with Hunter. She sits there silently for a moment taking him in. His eyes were darker than normal, pupils dilated, fixated directly on her. His face clean shaven exposing a few small scars, no doubt the results of a high stick to the face. He was dressed to kill in one of his many designer suits. One thing that she loved about Hunter was that he was always put together. He also smelled like heaven, a mixture of his cologne, and something else that was uniquely him.

“I was worried you wouldn’t come…” he says gently holding up a small bouquet of flowers, extending his arm out “I know that these don’t make up for today, but…” he shrugs.

Faith smiles taking the flowers from him, bending down to take in their sweet aroma. “Hunter, they’re beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.”

Faiths breath catches in her throat as a small smile spreads across her lips. He always knew the right things to say to make her heart beat a little faster. Hunter reaches out towards her gently lifting her face towards his. He runs his thumb delicately across her cheekbone and over her lips before pressing his mouth to hers.

Faith wraps her free arm around his neck pulling him closer to her, opening her mouth, finally allowing their tongues to dance. She had been waiting for months for Hunter to kiss her, and he tasted better than she ever could have imagined. His mouth moves quickly against hers, his hands cupping her face. Faith digs her freshly manicured nails into his strong shoulders, unable to get his body close enough to hers. Hunter continued his hot pursuit of her mouth, sliding his arms around her. The combination of his soft tongue, mixed with his intoxicating scent had Faith's body buzzing from head to toe. She silently cursed herself for reacting so intensely to his touch, but the longer she kissed him, the harder it became to pull away.

She pulled back slowly, giggling softly at the loud sound of their lip lock breaking apart.

“Wow…” Hunter sighed running a hand through his hair, his breathing erratic.

“Yeah….wow” Faith nodded taking a long sip of her wine.

They were interrupted by one of the staff workers informing them their table was ready. Hunter extends his hand, and escorts Faith to their table. He pulls out her chair for her, before sitting down across from her, his brown eyes bright and a smile on his face.

The rest of the evening goes off without a hitch. Faith and Hunter spend the next two hours engaging in casual conversation and enjoying each other’s company, obvious chemistry radiating off of them. They exchange numerous hand touches, flirty eyes and warm smiles. Oblivious to the world around them.

“So, Mr. Milda” Faith smiles “Why did it take you two years to finally take me out? I’d almost given up on you.”

Hunter chuckles, signing the receipt from dinner “Honestly? I didn’t know what you wanted. I don’t play games, Faith. I take my relationships seriously. I’m not into casual hookups or any of that, I want what I want. And I GET what I want.” Hunter spoke seriously. “I don’t like to share and I think that’s why I was so aggravated on the plane earlier. We’ve been going back and forth for a while, and Moreno sticks his nose in like this is any of his business. I mean really, who the hell does he think he is?”

Faith places her hand on top of his “Hunts, don’t.” She bit her lip, deciding that diffusing the situation was the only way to prevent things from escalating again, even if that meant omitting some of the steamy details of their past. “Look…Ollie and I were friends when he was here a few years ago. We went out a couple of times. It was nothing serious. He left, we didn’t stay in contact. And now… I don’t know.” She sighs “It was a long time ago. Things are different now. So please, don’t let that get to you. I’m sure he was just looking out for me as a friend, ok?”

Hunter, visibly unamused, nods slowly “Yeah... “ He stands from the table, extending his hand to Faith. She willingly accepts, standing as well. The pair make their way through the maze of tables and out into the lobby of the hotel. “Is this what you want Faith? Me? Us? This?” he gestures between them.

“Hunter” Faith smiles “I like you. I HAVE liked you. You’re a wonderful man. You make me smile every time I see you. You’re a hell of a kisser” she pauses, feeling the heat rise up to her cheeks “But we’ve been on a grand total of ONE date…and we’re technically still on it.” She wraps her arms around his neck, placing a soft kiss on his cheek “Am I planning our wedding yet? No. But do I like where this is going?” a big grin creeps across her face “Yeah… I think I do.”

Hunter leans down, pressing his lips against Faiths briefly. “I guess I can accept that” he smiles.

“Good” she kisses him once more “But for now. Its late, you have an early practice, and I have a lot of work to get done tonight” she removed her arms from around his shoulders, running them down his arms, feeling the rigid lines of his biceps.

Hunter nodded in agreement “Yeah I know… but-“ Faith quickly places a finger to his lips to silence him.

“No” she chuckles “No buts. There's always tomorrow.”

He pouts playfully and nods. “Are you coming to practice?”

She chuckles “Hunts, I never come to practice. You know that”

“Well…maybe you should start?” He raises an eyebrow.

“No, Hunter” Faith chuckles and takes his hand walking towards the elevators, pressing the UP button. Just as the elevator car arrives, Faith curses “Shit, I forgot I wanted to get RedBull. I’ll never get my work done without it.”

“It’s ok, I’ll come with you” Hunter starts to turn away from the now-open elevator doors.

“Nah, you don’t need to do that. I’m just running to the store in the lobby here.” She leans up giving him a hug “Thank you for dinner.”

Hunter slides his arms around her, pulling her close to him “The first of many, beautiful”. He smiles placing one more quick kiss on her lips.

“Goodnight Hunts” She smiles, breaking their embrace.

He turns back, stepping into the elevator, “Goodnight Faith”.


	4. How to fix up a heart that I let down....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's getting interesting now..... ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same thanks yous.... more so to Michelle who really took off with her story line. It's fabulous! 
> 
> Chapter title from WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO by One Direction. Did I say I was changing it? Yeah, I was going to but I actually name the song in this chapter so... deal with it? It's a good song.

**Chapter 4**

After looking for Red Bull in the Hotel store, the 7-11 across the street and the gas station on the corner, Faith walks back towards the hotel empty handed. As she approaches the property, someone grabs her hand, startling her. “WHAT THE-“ She turns and is greeted by the dark eyes of Oliver.

“Its just me, I didn’t mean to startle you… I just...I saw you walking alone, and I wanted to make sure you were ok. Why are you out walking around here right now? It’s late, and its not safe here” Oliver rambles.

“Ollie, Jesus Christ you almost gave me a fucking heart attack!” Faith shoves him. “I was looking for RedBull, and apparently no one in Florida drinks RedBull. And I’m fine. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself, but thank you for your concern.” she spews bitterly.

“I know you’re mad, Faith…”

“Don’t you pretend for even ONE second you know how I feel.” She waves one finger at him “You lost all those privileges the minute you became too busy to return my phone calls.”

“I can explain…”

“Of course you can Ollie, its always something, isn’t it? I’m so tired. I’ve got practice. It’s so late, blah blah blah bullshit. BULLSHIT! Do you have ANY idea how hard it was for me when you left? And now you walk in here and think you can just pick up where we left off? You tell Hunter that ‘I’m your business?’ Who the hell do you think you are?” Faith keeps ranting, letting everything she had been holding in for the last few years escape her lips with no filter. Oliver stood there quietly, allowing her to speak her peace. “Well news flash Oliver Scott Moreno, I am NOT your business. I WANTED to be your business. For that whole season, I told myself that MAYBE just MAYBE if I pretended it was casual, that you would fall in love with me and I would ONE DAY be your business. But NO! You decided that Seattle, oh, what was the quote? OH I REMEMBER, ‘Seattle no longer provides me with the things I need to grow both professionally and personally, and for that reason I’ve decided to accept a 3-year contract playing for the Dallas Darts’. Well, I hope you enjoyed all the money and the publicity Oliver.” Faith was fuming at this point. She fought back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. He was not going to make her cry. Not one more tear was going to be shed over Oliver Moreno.

“You think I left for the money?” Oliver's mouth gapes open “Faith, I wanted to stay in Seattle more than anything. Seattle didn’t WANT me. They were talking about sending me to Bridgewater for the next season to ‘work on my game’, because apparently, being a first liner with 60 points wasn’t good enough for Coach. They didn’t want to give me a contract. I don’t know if it was a cap problem, I don’t know if its because Coach hated me. But I was a great player and I deserved a shot to prove myself. It wasn’t the money Faith, and my god it definitely wasn’t you!” He rubs his face, obviously frustrated.

Faith shakes her head “It doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t even TRY once you left, Ollie. I know you weren’t my boyfriend, but if nothing else I thought we were friends.” She frowns turning away from him walking back toward the hotel “I need to go.”

“Faith I wanted to talk to you...but I was scared. I know its not an excuse, but I was young. I was stupid. I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t want to get caught up in a relationship. Dallas was giving me an opportunity that Seattle wasn’t giving me. I made a mistake. Walking away from you was a MISTAKE.” He quickly walks up next to her “Faith please” he places his hands on her shoulders, causing her to stop. “Please” He speaks sincerely.

Faith sighs, emotionally exhausted. “What, Ollie…” she speaks softly, stopping voluntarily and silently cursing herself. She made such breakthroughs with Hunter less than an hour earlier, and now, Oliver comes back into the picture and is pleading for her attention. He still got to her, and deep down, she knows that’s because she allows him to.

Oliver stands in front of her, his hands still on her shoulders, as if he were afraid she would run if he let go. “I’m sorry Faithy…the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you.”

Faith broke. Slumping her shoulders she reached out pulling Oliver in for a hug. She didn’t want to fight anymore. She didn’t want to be angry anymore. The pair stood on the sidewalk, clinging to each other. No more words were needed.

After a few moments, Oliver was the one to pull back. “Come on…it’s late” he places a hand on the small of her back. They walked back side by side, through the lobby, into the elevator, and up to the 38th floor.

"Thank you for walking me back...I'm glad we had a chance to talk and laid everything out on the table" Faith smiles as they approach her room, pulling out her key card.

"Me too" Oliver nods, "but, there's one more thing that I wanted to say before I go...but I don't really know how to tell you."

"Just spit it out Ollie," she encourages with a chuckle "It's not like you to hold back."

As Oliver steps closer, Faith could sense what was coming. She could read him like a book. Flashbacks flood her mind with each blink of her eyes. Paralyzed by visions of every smile, kiss and laugh they've shared. The sound of every post-game phone call. The feeling of his hot skin pressing against hers. Memories of the way he smells, the way he tastes and the sound of his voice when he moaned her name raging through her veins. He presses his body against hers pinning her against the wall and kisses her. The kind of kiss that takes your breath away. His mouth firm but gentle, his body position reminding her that he was in control, the way he had been so many times before. Faith grabs at his shirt unable to get his body close enough to her as he feverishly attacks her mouth. Years of pent up emotions rushing out of her in that moment.

Oliver tangles his hands in her curly brown hair as he bites her bottom lip, remembering how much that small gesture turned Faith on. "Ollie" she breathes, swallowing hard as he moves his mouth to the soft skin of her jawline and neck. Faith slides her hands under the sides of his shirt desperate to feel his skin against hers.

"I should have come back years ago" he mumbles quietly between soft kisses. “I never should have left you.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly snaps the pair out of their momentary bubble of lust. Both turn their heads quickly, looking over Oliver's shoulder, and are greeted with the unamused glare of JP.

"Shit" Faith curses softly, resting her head back against the wall, dropping her hands from the warm skin of his back.

"JP, hi. I...look I...I can explain" Faith stutters, her mind still spinning from her kiss with Oliver.

JP raises a hand shaking his head, to signal he wanted no explanation. "You know there are rules about this kind of workplace behavior..." He speaks sternly.

Oliver backed away from Faith slightly, nodding his head. "Yes sir."

JP pointed at the door. "Then get out of the damn hallway before someone else sees you."

Faith let's out a loud sigh of relief, fumbling to find her key card.

"The floor Faith" JP smirks continuing down the hallway,"You owe me..."

Faith bends down to the floor quickly retrieving the card and stuffing it in the door, making a mental note to have Shayna put a big bottle of Gray Goose in his office when they get back.

They quickly move into Faith’s room, picking right up where they left off. Oliver presses her up against the door, his mouth latching back onto hers. Faith giggles against his lips tugging at his shirt, clawing at his back. She could tell by the way he kissed her that he meant business, and she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. But in the back of her mind she struggled, knowing that giving in to Oliver now would ultimately be the end of her relationship with Hunter.

Faith ducks down under his arms and out from behind his grip running her hand through her hair. Breathing hard she walks over to the room service cart and begins undoing the wrapper on the bottle of Champagne.

“What…what happened…what’s wrong?” Oliver follows her also breathing heavy, dumbfounded.

“I just…I wanted a drink” she fibs, fumbling with the wire casing.

“Faith…” he gives her a look.

“I want you Ollie” she slams the bottle back down in the bucket “God you have no idea how much I just want to throw you on the bed and have my way with you.” She pointed back to the still-made king size bed.

Oliver stands with a blank look on his face “…but?”

“But its complicated! I just… UGH I don’t know!” she picks up the bottle again, discarding the casing, and popping the cork. “You have no idea what you do to me.” She puts the bottle to her mouth, forgoing the glass.

He steps closer taking her free hand and running it over the front of his jeans “I think I have a pretty good idea, because you do it to me too…”

The corners of Faith's mouth curl up as she sips from the bottle “You’re not playing fair. Can’t we just spend time alone together NOT having sex?” she pulls her hand back from his hips, not trusting herself.

Oliver nods taking the champagne bottle out of her hands, taking a long sip. “Of course we can…” he walks towards Faith's bed putting the bottle on her nightstand. He pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it on the chair in the corner of the room. In one swift motion, he kicks his pants, socks and shoes off, and crawls into her bed. “No sex. Just spending time together”.

Faith eyes him for a minute before changing into a tank top and shorts and crawling into bed next to him. “I better not wake up to your hands in my pants, Moreno” she smirks at him.

“Yeah? Well I better not wake up with you on top of me” he chuckles.

Faith leans over and places a long kiss on his lips. Oliver reaches out and links his finger through the chain of her cross necklace “I always wondered if you kept this…”

Faith nods slowly “I never took it off…”

Oliver wraps his strong arms around her pulling her body into his embrace as Faith curls up against him. “Sweet dreams, Faithy.”

******

“Shayna! Hello, earth to Shayna!” Everly bangs her hand on the table of the booth trying to catch Shayna's attention. “Honestly, what the hell? Can you put your phone down for like two seconds? Are you even talking to someone?”

“I'm going to take your phone in like two seconds,” Livy looks pissed. “You know I will.”

“I'm sorry, Jesus.... I was paying attention. I promise,” Shayna sighs, putting her phone face down to the table, finishing off her drink. “I'm not.... talking to anyone.”

“Mmmm, sure you're not,” Livy shifts over trying to look over Shayna's shoulder. “Snapchat? Instagram? What are you doing?”

“Nothing, really. Nothing.... so, goalies. Under 10 teams,” Shayna laughs as she slaps Livy's hand from touching her phone. “Here, here look,” she holds her phone up. “Nothing, nothing on my screen. I'm not doing anything. I was just checking it.”

“Oh hey, where did you get that picture of Tristan?” Everly snatches the phone out of her hand. “Look at his face... oh god,” she hysterically laughs at the black and white lock screen.

“I stole it from Stefan's Instagram. Thanks. Happy?” Shayna smirks taking her phone back, placing it back on the table.

“Yes, the clinic has been going well.....” Everly starts smiling. “Kids are doing much better thanks to the donated equipment that London and Casey sent over. We couldn't be more proud of these kids honestly. I think we are going to be able to put together a scholarship for goalies in the next couple of weeks. Is there a way maybe we can get some more sponsorship from the team? Or at least maybe some sort of promo?”

“Yeah, I'll talk to Faith when she comes back about it. Holiday fundraisers will be kicking in soon,” Shayna nods, glancing back at her phone. She can see the screen light up against the table. “I'm going to get a new drink, anyone want anything?” she asks, grabbing her phone and glass from the table. Both girls raise their glasses at the same time.

Shayna slides out of the booth, putting her phone in her back pocket and collects the glasses from the table to bring to the bar. She brings the glasses up and waves at Zach as he walks over to her.

“Another round?” he grins at her as he reaches for the glasses.

“Sure. I don't know what Liv and Everly were drinking, but whatever that was. Take your time....” Shayna nods as she takes her phone out of her pocket, smiling at the notification.

**Tristan (8:41pm):** _Team dinner finished. Drinks to be consumed!_

She smiles, looking up to Zach who's busy helping someone else. She slips onto a chair to wait as she types back a message.

**Shayna (8:43pm: _Doing the exact same. I just came down to Mile._**   
**Tristan (8:44pm):** _Who are you with?_   
**Shayna (8:45pm): _Sisters._**   
**Shayna (8:45pm): _Everly and Livy, I don't know if you know who is who._**   
**Tristan (8:46pm)** _: Nope._   
**Tristan (8:46pm):** _Wait, London's girlfriend? The goalie?_   
**Shayna (8:47pm): _Yup, that's her. And her sister. I have to go back to the table. I can't talk much. They get touchy when I sit on my phone._**   
**Tristan (8:48pm):** _It's ok. I'll just leave some messages for you ;)_

Shayna rolls her eyes at her phone just as Zach is putting the drinks in front of her.

“Well look at that grin you have going on! Who you talking to?” Zach smirks taking the money Shayna is holding out.

“Nothing I can talk about right now.” Shayna tries to look serious, failing miserably.

“Sureeeeee. I hope that's the lovely Deniau on the other end. Finally, if you know what I mean,” he winks.

“Shut up! No, I don't know. Stop Zach, god. Am I grinning that hard? Oh, please don't say anything. It's just new, I don't want to jinx anything. I'll keep you posted.” Shayna blushes as she collects the glasses off the bar top.

“I promise I won't. I'm just happy for you.” Zach smiles. Shayna makes a kissy face to him as she turns to head back to the table where her friends are sitting.

About an hour or so later, Victoria and Greta have shown up and have taken spots in the booth beside Everly and Livy. They're deep in conversation about the boys.

“So Luca told me that Deni has been extra cheery all of sudden,” Victoria blurts out as if it's gossip. “Wonder what that's about.”

“No idea? Why?” Shayna raises an eyebrow to her as Victoria gives her one back.

“Maybe your conversation the other night here went really well? What did you even talk about?” Greta laughs.

“Nothing really. Just told him I was sorry for being awkward and I bought him another drink.”

“He walked you and Faith home,” Everly chimes in from behind her glass.

“He walked you home? Around the corner?” Victoria gasps.

“Yeah, just to be nice because Faith was a bit tipsy. Nothing after that, it was just awkward.” Shayna replies with a straight face. She can feel her phone vibrating in her pocket non stop, one right after the other. “I'm going to the bathroom, be right back!” She smiles, sliding back out of the booth.

She starts walking to the bathroom, pulling her phone from her pocket scrolling through the messages.

**Tristan (9:44pm):** _Oh, who decided jaegerbombs were smart?_   
**Tristan (9:52pm):** _Your friends are mean for not letting you answer back._   
**Tristan (9:53pm):** _I'm going to send you pictures._   
**Tristan (9:56pm):** _* picture of Tristan in a black button up shirt, top buttons undone revealing his chain and collarbone, he's smiling wide, a bit of day old stubble on his face, his eyes bright *_   
**Tristan (10:01pm):** _* picture of Tristan, Gavin in the background over his shoulder making a face holding up shot glasses on his fingers *_   
**Tristan (10:11pm):** _* picture of Logan scowling *_   
**Tristan (10:15pm):** _* picture of Tristan, Logan, London, Casey, Gavin and a blurry Luca in the background with shot glasses in hand, the table full of glasses in front of them*_   
**Tristan (10:43pm):** _are you still out?_   
**Tristan (10:55pm):** _hmmmmmmm?_   
**Tristan (11:12am):** _Facetime me when you get in. :)_

Shayna starts laughing looking through the messages and at the pictures. She looks at the time realizing it was a little after 11 her time which means it was about 2am in Miami where the team was now, she decides maybe she'll just head home now. Her friends would get over it. She puts her phone back into her pocket and heads back to the table.

“Look at this picture London just sent me,” Everly giggles holding up her phone to Shayna as she comes back to the table. “How adorable do they look! And look! There's Deni! Mmm, he's looking good there,” she nudges Shayna's arm.

“Oh god yeah he does. That shirt does wonders. Aww, look at how tan they look, lucky bastards,” Shayna laughs as she looks at the picture that she just looked at on her own phone. “You guys, I'm gonna head home. I'm kinda tired.” Shayna mock yawns hoping the girls won't give her a problem.

“No, you can't go now? It's not even midnight!” Livy scoffs. “The boys are away, it's girls night!”

“I'm going home, it's been lovely. I don't have a boy that's away so no reason to drink,” Shayna shrugs grinning as she grabs her wristlet from the table. “See ya later!” She waves not even offering hugs. She was too excited to head back home.

Shayna walks out of Nautical Mile waving to the girls at the reception. She walks fast around the corner to her building, thanking herself for wearing flats out. She hops onto the elevator and makes it up to her apartment in less than a minute.

Calming herself as she walks in, she drops her wristlet to the breakfast bar. She runs into her room, switching on the light quickly looking into the mirror to take in her appearance. It was only Facetime, but she wanted to make sure she still looked acceptable. She opts to keep on her v-neck dark grey shirt but throws on a pair of comfy Victoria Secret sweats. She heads to the bathroom and runs a brush through her hair making sure it was presentable. She heads out to the living room, plopping down on the couch to test out her camera making sure the lighting was good. Once settled she scrolls through her contacts, takes a deep breath and clicks the button on Tristan's name for Facetime.

Shayna can see herself in her phone as the screen rings. Connecting, the screen blurs, then a pair of blue eyes behind glasses comes in to focus.

“Oh Jesus, sorry, I didn't think it was connecting,” Tristan's accented voice spills from the speaker. His face fills the screen as he pulls it back. “Hello,” he smiles.

“You wear glasses?” Shayna gapes at him. “I've never seen you wear glasses.”

“Yeah, I usually wear them at night or on non game days. Or days when my eyes are itchy, you know like normal people who wear contacts.”

“I like them, a lot.”

“Thanks? That was quick, I didn't think you would call so soon. Are you like in the bathroom of Mile right now?”

“No, I'm home,” Shayna clicks the button to change the camera to show around her apartment, quickly changing it back.

“You just left your friends?”

“It was getting boring. A lot of talk about the other guys and such.” she shrugs.

“You wanted to talk to me didn't you?”

“Maybe.”

Tristan laughs as the camera shifts some, a rustling noise starts as the screen goes white.

“Whoops,” Tristan comes back on the screen, a white pillow behind his head. “Sorry, went to lay down and I dropped the phone. How was your night?” he asks adjusting the pillow holding out the phone revealing that he's shirtless. His tan skin comes into view with the glow of the screen as he puts his hand behind his head.

Shayna's eyes go wide, her lips part slightly. “It was, uh, ok. Like I said, boring. How was yours?” she coughs, mouth suddenly dry. She licks her lips causing him to smirk.

“It was fine. Dinner was ok. Coach made a comment about being a team and being together as one and it was a bit awkward because Oliver glared at Hunter. Hunter just shrugged him off. Faith was there just staring at her plate. So, really weird. Then we went out to the bar across the street. Did you like the pictures?”

“They were so funny! Logan looked so angry in the one. What is up his ass? Gavin though, oh my god with the glasses on his fingers.”

“No idea, maybe because I was taking a picture him? He was texting on his phone a lot. Which by the way, I saw you in a picture.”

“When was that?”

“You were next to the one girl, not the goalie because Casey showed me.”

“Livy. Yeah she's big in to selfies.”

“Well it worked out because you didn't send me any pictures back so... At least I got to see one of you.”

“That's not my fault,” Shayna pouts.

“It's ok, I can see you now.”

“Good.” There's a loud knock or bang.

“ARE YOU TALKING TO SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?” a voice from Tristan's side comes through slightly muffled. His video feed goes white. Shayna doesn't know if she should say something or not so she waits as she listens to the muffled talking. The sounds rustle a bit, it's goes from white to dark quickly.

“Hey sorry,” Tristan's eyes can be seen in the darkness, the reflection of the screen on his glasses. “I have to go,” he whispers. “Gavin came back in. He's a bit messy. I'm just going to make sure he gets into bed and not throw up on the floor.”

“It's ok, go. Thanks for chatting though.” Shayna smiles trying not to show her upset.

“Don't be upset, I can see it in your eyes.”

“I'm not! I'm ok.”

“I'll talk to you before the game tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Shayna nods, holding out the phone.

“Goodnight Shayna,” Tristan grins, still in darkness.

“Goodnight Tristan. Sleep well.” Shayna smiles again as he gives her a warm smile before the video blurs and disconnects.

****  
Shayna's sitting on the couch curled up in the corner, head on her hand that's propped up on the armrest. The girls met up to watch the game at Everly's apartment and have some dinner together.

“What the hell is going on with them right now?” Everly yells out from the other end of the large sectional couch. “Did they party too hard last night? I can't believe they are down 4-1 right now.”

“It's like they're not meshing together. Are the lines getting mixed? I can't stand when St. Claire breaks out his bingo tumbler and just starts throwing numbers together,” Victoria scoffs from the armchair close to Shayna.

“I swear if Sava takes another penalty, I'm going to personally stab him as soon as he gets off that plane,” Everly growls.

Shayna rubs her forehead trying to relieve the slight tension above her eyes. This game has been extra stressful. Tristan took a puck to the chin earlier which stung him, causing him to go to the locker room. He was missing for a good portion of the second period but came back for the start of the third. He looked to have a slight cut on his jaw but nothing serious.

“They're just sloppy. So unlike them...” Shayna sighs, reaching out to grab her soda off the coffee table in front of her.

“Thank god it's almost over. Sadly they'll come home all upset in the morning,” Greta mutters from the other side of Victoria. “Just what we need, sulking.”

The horn sounds on the television, the Scarlet losing 4-1 to the Twisters. No one moves from their seats, thick silence sitting in the room.

“I hope they get extra practice for that one. I don't want to see Logan for the next day for that game....” Archer shrugs, rolling her eyes as she looks on her phone.

“At least we get to see Marina and Tanner at the end of next week,” Livy points out from the lounge on the end of the sectional.

“I've missed them,” Shayna replies leaning back into the couch as she glances at her phone. “Well, I'm heading home. Anyone need a ride back?”

“We do!” Greta stands, poking at Victoria.

Shayna grabs her bag from the floor beside her, taking out her keys. “Lovely to see you all again, it's been real.” she waves to the room.

****  
After what felt like an eternity, the Scarlet finally make it back to Seattle. Weather delayed their departure from Miami, and everyone was happy to get back home. After they land, the bus brings everyone back to the arena to go their collective ways. Faith jumps out of her seat, anxious to get away from the bus full of raging testosterone, more specifically Oliver and Hunter. She quickly grabs her bags and heads towards the parking lot to retrieve her car.

“Hey Faith?” shes halted by Tristan as she’s putting her bags in her car.

“Hey Deni” Faith smiles “What’s up?”

“A few of the guys wanted to go out to Mile tonight, and I wasn’t sure if anyone had asked you to come with us” Tristan smiles slowly “or if anyone told the other girls also to come.”

Faith chuckles “If you want to see Shayna, you can always just call her you know.”

“I tried to call, but I got her voicemail to leave a message. I didn’t know if you had spoken to her?”

“Hmm… why don’t you just go to her apartment?” Faith smirks “I know she would love to see you, and that would be a really sweet surprise.”

Tristan rubs at his jaw, obviously contemplating whether he should go or not. “You don’t think she would mind me visiting at this time? It’s kinda late, no?”

Faith shoots him a look of disbelief and shakes her head “You’re kidding right…YOU” she guided him by the shoulder away from her car and across the lot towards his truck “Are going over to your car, and going to our building. I’m calling Rory at the desk to tell him you’re coming. You want the 7th floor, Apartment E.” Tristan nods slowly, grabbing his keys from his pocket.

“Thanks Faith” he smiles.

Faith pats him on the back and turns to walk back to her car, dialing Rory’s number. She informs him that Tristan will be coming by, and then dials Shayna to make sure she’s at home.

Tristan pulls up to her car, rolling his window down “If she’s busy or sleeping, I can just see her tomorrow…” Tristan questions “I don’t want to disturb her…”

“No, Shhhhh!” She covered the speaker quickly “You’ll do what I tell you” she points down the street in the direction of their building, shooting Tristan a look. “Its fine!” she waved him on.

He chuckles, shaking his head, heading down the street.

****

“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” is blaring from the nightstand next to Shanya stirring her awake. She reaches out from under her duvet to grab it, noting the time, Faith's name and picture is lighting up the screen. Shayna rolls her eyes answering the phone.

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?” Faith's laugh coming through seems extra loud through the small speaker.

“Sleeping, bed. Warm. Why? I actually fell asleep early. You home?” Shayna mutters rolling back into her pillow.

“Yeah, we're all home. You um, well, you'll thank me later, but I suggest getting up. No! Shhhh, you'll do what I tell you...” Faith's voice pulls away from the speaker as if she's talking to someone. “It's fine! Sorry Shay. We came home and are going to Mile for a bit.”

“I'm not going out right now. I'm staying in bed.”

“You can stay there... but just so you know, it's coming in hot.... Enjoy.” Faith cackles, the call disconnecting.

Shayna frowns looking at the phone. She hadn't heard from Faith or Tristan all day, this being the first she's heard from them. She ended up stopping by the office for a bit, seeing her trainer, grabbing dinner and passing out early. She rubs her face into the pillow, sighing as she closes her eyes still half asleep.

What seems likes a while later, Shayna can hear her doorbell softly ringing from out in the hall followed by soft knocks. She picks her head up from the pillow listening again to make sure she wasn't just imagining it. The bell rings again causing Shayna to throw back the covers. She rubs her eyes, stopping to take in her appearance in the mirror. Her hair is pulled up in a messy knot, she's wearing Tristan's sweatshirt, a tee and a pair of shorts. She shrugs not caring because it's most likely Faith at the door as she walks out to the hallway.

“I don't want to go out Faith,” Shayna starts as she unlocks the door squinting at the bright light that pours through the door. “I just want to sleep.”

“I'm sorry,” a deep voice jars Shayna awake. She opens her eyes to see Tristan standing there filling the doorway dressed in a pair of jeans, a grey sweater and a pair of black Nike trainers. “I didn't mean to wake you. Faith said you were awake when she sent me here.”

“She would... Come in, come in.” Shayna winces as she steps back hiding behind the door as she opens it for him to come in. He steps inside walking to the living room, turning to face her as she closes the door. He takes a step forward closing the gap between them reaching out for her grabbing her hand.

“I missed you,” he whispers pulling her to him, his hands cupping her face, lowering his mouth to hers. At first it was gentle, his fingers sliding back into her hair as she reached up putting her hands on his chest taking the warmth coming off of his sweater. Shayna pulled back, their breathing ragged slightly.

“Hello to you too,” Shayna giggled, running hand up through her messy hair looking up to his face. Tristan's eyes were glazed, his pupils dilated and completely flustered.

“You look so good in my sweatshirt,” he growls pulling her closer as he leaned in again devouring her lips. Warm and a bit more aggressive this time, his tongue dips into her mouth, sliding over her tongue over and over again. There was a sudden awareness to his kiss, desire swept over them like a tidal wave. His hands felt possessive on her, sliding from her neck to the small of her back holding her close. She sucked at the tip, wanting more. She licked at him, meeting his tongue in a flirty duel that had him sucking back. She wanted to devour him just as much as it seemed he wanted her.

Before she realized she had, Shayna's hands had inched under his sweater past his tee, fingers sliding over his taut abs.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry...” Shayna whispered withdrawing her hands nervously breaking the kiss.

“It's alright,” he laughs, his fingers circling her wrists bringing her hands up in front of him. “I'm sorry for kinda just dropping by. Faith said it would be ok. They were all going off to Mile. I was hoping she told you to come out.”

“I didn't hear from anyone today so I just went on with my day,” Shayna shrugs. “I also didn't hear from you, not that that's a problem or I was waiting around for you or whatever or Faith but whatever. I get it you guys lost, I didn't wanna... I don't know.”

“It's fine. Partly my fault,” Tristan yawns suddenly, trying to stifle it with the back of his hand, still holding hers.

“Tired?”

“Jet lag I guess.”

“Wanna lounge on the couch get comfortable?” Shayna nods to the couch behind them.

Tristan agrees, letting go of her hands as he toes off his sneakers. He reaches up over his shoulders, pulling his sweater over his head watching as Shayna walks around the couch to her bedroom. She comes back out with her pillows and comforter, throwing them on to the lounge. She moves the coffee table out of the way and pulls the large ottoman over making the lounge bigger.

“Impressive,” Tristan laughs walking around dropping down to the lounge situating a pillow behind his head. Shayna grabs the remotes for the TV, moving the comforter up to slide in next to Tristan as he holds his arm out for her. “HGTV, nice.”

“I love Property Brothers,” Shayna blushes putting the remotes on the cushion next to her slightly hiding under the comforter. “They are amazing at what they do,” she mumbles.

“No judgment,” Tristan chuckles wrapping his arm around her tighter, his chin resting on top of her head.

Shayna sighs, exhaling a deep breath and rolls into Tristan's side, their legs tangling together as she lays her head on his chest. The material of his tee soft against her face as she listens to the steadiness of his breathing, slowly both drifting off.


	5. Even though I know you love me, can’t help it.....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR SOME GOOD STUFF..... *wink wink, nudge nudge* It's about to get serious. Hahahaa....
> 
> Shayna and Tristan are heating up, not as awkward anymore.... sorta?  
> Faith is just in the middle of a messy triangle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same, same, same. 
> 
> Chapter title from JEALOUS by Nick Jonas. Thank you Nick Jonas for your self titled album. It's been a jem in this writing.... so helpful! lol

**Chapter 5**

Shayna awakes startled by the bright light. Realizing she's on her couch, she whines slightly and pulls the comforter up over her head but is stopped by an arm holding on her.

“What the... oh, ohhhh,” Shayna leans back catching the sleeping form of Tristan behind her, his arm wrapped around her lower half. She turns to her other side to face him, his head resting on the dark grey pillow, eyes closed silently still sleeping. She admires how he looks, sleep messy hair, lips parted slightly, arm tucked under the pillow. She smirks to herself, rolling into the pillow to keep quiet. He stirs, eyes fluttering open.

“Good morning,” Tristan greets Shayna with warm eyes.

“Good morning,” Shayna grins into her pillow. “I hate to be the barer of bad news but I have to go to the office. Practice today?”

“Mmm, yeah,” Tristan rolls to his back, raising his arms above his head to stretch. “Later though.” He rolls back over, dropping his arms and upper body on Shayna causing her to giggle.

“Oh my god, what are you doing?” she laughs.

“No, stay. Office later,” he throws his leg over hers, trying to cling to her smaller frame.

“Well this is awkward,” Shayna replies, unable to move with him on top of her. She manages to pull her arm out, reaching out to stroke his hair as his face buries in her neck. He starts pressing soft kisses to her neck. “Oh, ohhh alright,” she laughs. He grins running his nose along her ear, his breath ever so light on her earlobe.

“Tristan....” Shayna shifts slightly under his weight, her hand in his hair as he nips at her neck. He trails kisses along her jaw just as she tugs lightly at his hair drawing his attention up to her eyes. She can see him smirking just below her chin. They look at each other, eyes searching briefly.

Tristan shifts up suddenly, hand cupping her face, lips crashing onto hers. His tongue traces the line of her mouth and then pushing forward. She nipped at his bottom lip, moaning into his mouth. He kissed her like he owned her, his tongue exploring her mouth leaving no part untouched.

Shayna leans up, trying to get him to take his weight off her causing him to break the kiss catching her hint. He rolls to his back smiling holding his hands out to her to snuggle back into him. She smiles leaning down over him, lightly kissing his lips, her hands on the sides of his shoulders. She grins mid kiss feeling brave and tosses her leg over his lower half to straddle him.

Tristan's eyes open wide, his piercing blue eyes staring right at her as she makes herself comfortable on his lap, kneeling on either side of his muscular legs. Still leaning forward slightly, Shayna leans down to place a kiss to his lips to gauge his reaction. His eyes close slowly, his hands working his way up her thighs as he kisses back. He leans up, his hands snaking under his sweatshirt that she was still wearing, forcing her to sit up as they continued kissing. She wraps her arms around his neck, trying to pull him as close as she can get to him. 

Tristan pulls at the bottom of the sweatshirt, breaking them apart briefly as Shayna lifts her arms taking the sweatshirt off completely revealing her tee below. Dropping the sweatshirt to the side, she wraps her arms back around his neck continuing her assault of his mouth. His hands drop to her lower back, slowly moving down to cup her ass, fingers kneading softly drawing a moan from her causing them to break, the loud smack of their lips coming apart. Shayna can feel him growing hard under her causing her to shift her hips. He hisses at the contact of her on his lap, pulling her closer with one hand up her back. He beings to kiss along her collarbone, sucking small red marks to her skin. 

Behind them on the coffee table, Shayna’s phone starts to vibrate signaling a text message. Tristan raises his head looking at her causing her to shake her head no. She reaches down trailing her fingers along, pulling up his shirt once she hits the bottom hem. He lets go of her holding his arms up so she can pull it over his head and throw it with the discarded sweatshirt. Shayna grins, her mouth dropping to to the top of his shoulder biting the soft tan skin. 

“You have …. no idea…. how much I’ve wanted to do that…” Shayna moans in between bites and kisses to his shoulders. 

“Just, don’t go too crazy. I do have my shirt off a lot in the locker room,” Tristan breathes, his hands coming up her back, one going higher to pull at her ponytail giving him access to her neck. Her back arches pushing her breasts into his chest, a growl sounds deep from within him. 

Shayna’s phone start blaring ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go’ on the table behind them. 

“Jesus fucking Christ…. ugh, forget it.” Shayna shakes her head continuing to ignore the phone. “I don’t even care right now.” She kisses him hard, tongue diving in with no warning. The phone stops and starts back up again. “I’m going to murder whoever that is when I see them.” 

“It’s not that serious,” Tristan laughs, his breath warm against her skin as he kisses her neck again. 

“Oh it’s not?” Shayna smirks running a hand down his bare chest, stopping just above the waistband of his jeans which he managed to sleep in. “Is it though?” she mocks slipping her hand over the bulge just to the side of his zipper. Tristan’s breath hitches, his hips lift slightly into her. “Mmmm, just what I thought,” she whispers as her fingers expertly undo the button of his jeans as she shimmies down his thighs some. She looks up to him as she curls her fingers in the waistband looking for approval, one eyebrow raised and a grin on her face as he lays back into the pillows. 

Just as Tristan is about to nod, there’s a loud banging at the door which whips open, Faith strolling in. 

“I swear to god if you are still sleeping and had your phone on sil--- OH JESUS….” Faith’s eyes go wide taking in the couch. Tristan’s shirtless arms extended over the pillows propped against the back of the couch, his jeans unbuttoned. Shayna is sitting on his knees with a death look on her face glaring at Faith. 

“Faith…Hi.” Tristan leans his head back looking up at her grinning. Shayna grabs the comforter from below her feet, hauling it up over her head and over Tristan’s body, muttering to herself as she climbs back up the couch. 

“Get out Faith….” Shayna’s muffled voice comes from under the comforter, her body curled up on top of Tristan’s lap. 

“Nice to see you Faith,” Tristan muses as he pats Shayna’s blanketed head on his chest, his cheeks slightly flushed. 

“Yeah, um, so…. Call me?” Faith laughs slowly backing up towards the door. “Office at 10. I’ll um, let JP know you’ll be late. I got you on this one….. “ Faith cracks up waving at Tristan as she closes the door. 

“I am so sorry,” Shayna murmurs as Tristan lifts the comforter from her head, peeking under at her. 

“Shayna,” he looks down to her, his finger sliding under her chin to tilt her face up to him. “It’s fine. It’s fine. I swear. At least my pants were on?” He chuckles as she pouts at him. “Or I mean my dick could have been in your mouth. THAT, that would have been awkward.” She swats at his chest. 

“Ughhhh. Well there goes that….” Shayna whines rolling off his lap to the cushions next to her still wrapped in the comforter. Tristan leans over wrapping his arms around her, balling her up lifting her to him dropping her to his lap. 

“We’ll continue later?” he smiles, kissing her forehead. “I have to shower before I head to practice anyway.” 

“Same here,” Shayna smiles rolling back off him to stand up, picking up his shirt and tossing it to him. “Do you want your sweatshirt back now?” 

“Nah, I’ll get another one. It looks better on you anyway,” Tristan grins holding the sweatshirt up to her. She takes it from him, dropping the comforter and tossing it over her head. “Not that I want you to put more clothes back on right now, but you look good in it.” 

Shayna laughs, putting the hood up as she tosses the comforter on the couch in front of her. 

“Are you going to watch practice maybe?” he asks, grabbing his grey sweater from the bar chair putting it on. 

“I never watch practice, Tristan. I also feel like today’s going to be a bit crazy with JP back. I have to face Faith now and get the low down on her drama. There’s a home game tomorrow and there’s vouchers for tickets and merch. It’s gonna be a bit crazy. You guys go to South California this week. I can’t make any promises,” Shayna holds out her hands counting off all the issues she has to deal with. 

“Alright, that’s fine. Let me know.” He holds his hands out to her, pulling her close to him tangling his hand in her hair, pressing a kiss to her lips. “I’ll see you later.” 

“See ya,” Shayna walks him to the door opening it for him to leave, smiling as he walks out. She closes the door pressing her head to the cool metal. 

****** 

“Of all the people to be cockblocked by in my entire existence and in the existence of our entire friendship, my money would NOT have been on you,” Shayna whines entering Faith’s office, dropping to the leather chair in front of her desk. “You, of all people.” 

“I’m SO sorry Shay…” Faith chuckles “Honestly, I was just nervous. No text, no call, no answer. How the hell did I know you were going to be balls deep... literally…” she shrugs moving folders around on her desk. 

“So…. speaking of penises or should I say peni? Who’s did you see?” Shayna smirks crossing her arms across her chest. “Say Hunter, say Hunter….” 

“No one’s. I’m not a whore just so you know,” Faith glares at Shayna. “But god, it could have been either of them. Hell it almost was!” 

“Tristan said the team dinner was awkward.” 

Faith nods “Team dinner was definitely...Tense?” She sighs “But, dinner with Hunter on the other hand? God, it was just so perfect. He wore the dark grey three piece--” 

“Oh god damn he brought out the big guns…. the dark grey with the vest?” 

“The vest. Yes, the vest” Faith grins “He sent me the bottle of champagne to my room...and so I go downstairs and I’m sitting there at the bar and he just slipped an arm around me. He gave me flowers” she gushes “and then he kissed me. Not just one of our ‘oh hey smooch smooch’ kisses, but the kind of kiss that blows your pants off. It felt like the world stopped” Faith sighs dreamily. “Then we sat down for dinner with one of the best conversations I’ve ever had on a date. He’s just so well rounded, and confident and damn sexy. I told him that a relationship was definitely something I am considering. After dinner he went upstairs and I went find RedBull which by the way, I need to pack next trip. No one in the entire god damn city limits had one.” 

“Doubtful, but whatever.” Shayna rolls her eyes. “Continue.” 

“No really! I checked 3 different places. I even went to the 7-11 across from the hotel! Anyway so, I’m on my way back when Oliver practically jumps out of the bushes---” 

Shayna busts out laughing “The bushes? He would…. there’s a joke there that I’m not gonna follow up on because we are friends….. but oh man…” 

“Shut up…. so we argue it out, more so me yelling at him, just letting him have it. Everything I’ve pent up just giving it to him, you know? Then he told me that he never left for the money but because they were sending him down to Bridgewater, so he went to Dallas because it was a better opportunity for him.” Faith twirls the bottom of her hair subconsciously. “Then he walked me to my room and when we got there, he pinned me to the wall and kissed me” she stares at Shayna “I almost lost it right there in the hall” 

Shayna rolls her eyes “Honey you need to get out more…”

“Shut up! BUT anyway, so like, we’re making out, and we end up in my room, and there’s the bottle of champagne on the cart and I… I just lost it. I couldn’t go through with it. I needed to know that Ollie and I could be alone together without having Sex. We ended up just cuddling and sleeping. It was actually really nice...Oh and by the way, this bottle of Goose, leave it on JP’s desk,” she grabs the bottle from under her desk and hands it to Shayna. 

“Do I even want to know what this is about?” she raises an eyebrow taking the bottle from her. 

“Just a little thank you for turning the other way.” 

“Gotcha.” 

“So on the way back from Florida, I spoke with JP and I have some good news for you. Pack your bag, you’re coming to SoCal with the team Tuesday,” Faith smiles. 

“Why though? How did you manage that one?” 

“We have 2 games, I figured why not and I could use an assistant aka you’re welcome. Plus, I thought maybe you and Tristan could have a sleepover” she winks at her “I promise not to come barging in….” 

Shayna raises an eyebrow “Oh now thats tempting….” she smirks.

“Not to mention, I have no idea what I’m going to do with Hunts and Ollie…..” Faith drops her head to her hands. “I’m gonna need a wingman”.

****

The team knows practice is going to be brutal today after their loss to the Twisters. They didn’t play as a team, and need to work on their neutral zone play. A few players are sitting this one out to nurse minor injuries so coach would only be rolling three lines. One by one the players skate out onto the ice wearing their appropriate colored practice jerseys. Oliver, Jiri Laska and Logan Casper are matched in Black Jerseys on the first line. Hunter is teamed up with Anders Mikaelsson and Karel Jezek in the red jerseys for the power line. Lastly Luca Langenberg, Viktor Pesek and Dominic Lorenzo are in the green jerseys, commonly reserved for the grinder line. All defensive players are dressed in the usual yellow. Coach calls out some drills and the boys really get to work. 45 minutes into practice, Red and Black jerseys are on the ice. Jiri makes a quick pass to Oliver who carries it into the zone and gets leveled by Hunter. The onlookers from practice all hoot and holler over the huge hit as Oliver quickly gets back to his feet. The two lines go back and forth with the puck before coach blows the whistle signaling a change in players. 

As the boys skate out of the zone, Oliver skates past Hunter, giving him a hard shove from behind. “Prick”.

Hunter turns to face Oliver, popping out his mouth guard “If you can’t play with the big boys Moreno, stop wasting our time.”

“Why don’t you make clean plays instead of your cheap shot bullshit.” Oliver snaps back skating over to him. “Your laziness cost us two PowerPlay goals last game.”

“You’re just pissed off I wrecked you, both on and off the ice” Hunter smirks, giving Oliver a shove.

Oliver shoved him back “You’ve got nothing on me, either on, or off the ice”

“I’ve got a lot of things…including your girl” Hunter boasts, hooking his stick under Oliver’s skates, causing him to lose balance and smack the ice. Gavin sees the drama unfolding and whistles to Logan. Both leave their spot in the drill skating over to the mess of limbs. 

“Will you two cut this shit out already? For fucks sake” Logan snaps, skating over to step between them. Oliver quickly scrambles back his feet and charges at Hunter tackling him to the ice. The two roll around throwing punch after punch at each other, each one harder than the last, helmets and gear flying. A series of grunts and groans escape the boys as their teammates scramble to pull them apart. Hunter throws one last left hook, connecting with the side of Oliver’s face, drawing blood from just above his cheekbone. 

Coach skates over, blowing his whistle incessantly and screaming at the two boys wrestling near the bench. “I dont know what the hell has gotten in to you, and frankly I don’t give a shit. You two, get the hell off my ice and don’t come back until you start working for the name on the FRONT of your jersey instead of the name on the BACK. GET OUT.” 

**** 

Shayna’s looking over the finalized vouchers for the coat drive the team is running for the game tomorrow when there’s a knock on her cubicle wall. 

“Hey,” Tristan walks around the wall leaning down to kiss her cheek. “So, do I have to tell you what just happened.” 

“You are getting so gossipy, it’s almost disturbing,” Shayna laughs turning her chair to face him as he leans back against her desk. 

“You might want to call Faith up here so she can hear this now,” Tristan points to her phone. “I think she might be the reason, but you haven’t given me much on what’s going on.” 

Shayna nods picking up the phone punching in Faith’s number. 

“Cockblockers anonymous, how may I ruin your day some more?” 

“Hey, you um, might want to come up here…” Shayna starts laughing receiving a confused look from Tristan as she waves at him. 

“Shay I’m kinda busy...can you tell me on the phone?” Faith ruffles papers on her desk to sound busy.

“Fine, fine. Tristan is here---” 

“I don’t want to hear you guys making out right now…”

‘No, Jesus Christ. He just came up from practice. He had something to tell you. I’m putting you on speaker, but just remember… SPEAKER…. loud. SPEAKER….”  


“I’m not a child, I know what speaker is. What about practice now?” 

“Hey Faith,” Tristan starts leaning over the desk to talk to the phone. 

“Hi Deniiiiii” she smirks.

“Practice was interesting. Do you like black eyes? I’m pretty sure Oliver will be sporting one.”

Faith hangs up the phone, and runs through Shayna’s cubicle 2 minutes later “EXPLAIN” she pants.

“Oh jeez, you ran in those heels?” Tristan looks down at her feet. 

“Yes...I’m very good at running in heels…” she shakes her head “DENI. Focus!”

“Ok, ok. We were running drills. I didn’t see too much of what was going on from the bench. Hunter took a relatively clean hit to Oliver. Oliver wasn’t happy about it. They started arguing back and forth. Hunter knocked Oliver to his ass with a bit of a stick poke. Oliver got back up and just charged right at Hunter. I’m surprised he can move like that. Just took him right down.”

Faith smirks to herself, knowing the power he has. 

“Helmets went flying, Gavs had to go break it up but he called in Logan. That didn’t stop them from rolling on the ice though. Hunter got the last punch in, splitting Oliver’s cheek. Should be a nice black eye by later. I don’t think anyone heard what they were saying but…. Coach threw them off the ice. No idea where they went. No one was in the locker room when we got in.” 

Faith frowns shaking her head “I can’t believe they actually fought.” She sits on the corner of Shayna’s desk “well shit Shay, now what do I do” she turns to her best friend with sad eyes.

“So no one’s going to fill me in?” Tristan looks between them. 

Faith gives Tristan a look “Long story short, a few years ago, Ollie and I….we had a thing going. Then he left, I cried for a year, then I met Hunter. He ignored me for a while. Now things are starting to heat up between us. Ollie’s back…They know about each other. They fight alot. Its complicated.” She turns back to Shayna pouting “Shaaaaaaaaaaay.”

“You didn’t see where they were?” Shayna turns to look at Tristan who shakes his head. “Wonder where they went. Hunter doesn’t know where you live. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ollie’s at your doorstep right now. This…. this is just too much. Are they going to be benched tomorrow?” 

“Not that I know of, Coach didn’t mention anything.” Tristan shrugs. “Plus we’re short already… not a lot of options for players left.”

“I guess now is really when you need to decide who is more important. This is now impacting how they’re going to play and the last thing you need is JP up in your business.” Shayna pats Faith’s leg sympathetically. “I have no idea what to honestly tell you except whatever your heart wants? God, that sounds so pathetic, but….” 

“Or you can just lie?” Tristan laughs, flinching as Shayna slaps his leg. 

“You can’t tell her that!” Shayna laughs as he shrugs at her. “I mean I doubt that is even possible….” 

A million thoughts are running through Faith’s head. “I want them both. Hunter and I have gone on ONE date. Ollie has had ONE night where he didn’t pin me to the wall...sorry Deni” she gives him a sympathetic look “How am I supposed to choose? I haven’t had a chance to date them yet!” she frowns. “Can’t they just….share?”

“There you go! People do this sort of thing all the time. Just keep it casual, friendly, loose.” Tristan nods. 

“Who let you in this cubicle?” Shayna glares. “Telling my best friend to play the field over here… keep it loose. What the hell…” 

“I’m just telling her to keep it real. One date, one whatever. Options.” 

“I mean...maybe he's right, Shay? Why can’t I date them both?” Faith racks her brain, trying to find any reason that this may not work.

“I’m behind you, just so you know but you’ll have to be honest eventually. This trip to California is going to be interesting….” Shayna sighs leaning back into her chair shaking her head. “Play on.”

Faith chuckles “I’m not being dishonest. I like them both. They both do it for me…God do they do it for me” she looks over at Tristan “Again….sorry.”

“Wait, you’re coming to California?” Tristan sits up looking at Shayna. 

“Not now. Not. Now. So, who do you go to first?” Shayna smirks. 

Faith gives her a look, “Ollie just got dropped by Hunter. I think he needs me more right now…” she frowns “Was it bad, Deni?”

“From the looks of it his cheek split. Don’t know if there’s stitches, definitely a black eye.” 

Faith sighs standing up from the desk “I guess I’m taking a half day today…”

“You going to pull that nurse’s costume from three years ago out too while you’re at it?” Shayna cracks up. 

Tristan’s eyes light up.

Faith chuckles “Depends on how badly he’s injured.” She looks at Tristan and shakes her head “No, you cannot see pictures.”

“Did you go as matching nurses?” he grins. 

“This is not the place for this right now. We …. we aren’t even… God…. Tristan,” Shayna shakes her head, rolling her eyes. 

Faith smirks “Sadly no, we didn’t match. Shayna was a school girl.” She straightens herself out, “I’m heading out to check on Ollie” she pouts “I hope he’s ok.”

“School girl…..” 

“Just keep us updated. I hope he’s ok,” Shayna pushes at Tristan’s leg almost pushing him off the desk. He glares at her as she shakes her head looking over her to the wall of pictures. “There are no pictures of said outfit on that wall just so you know.” 

“You two kids behave. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Faith exits her cubicle, popping her head back in “Deni….thanks for telling me about Hunts and Ollie” she smiles a little.

“Good luck!” he smiles standing up from the desk. “So, dinner tonight? I was thinking maybe we can go to the pier. I feel like I’m going to owe you after that conversation.” He looks down at Shayna sitting in the chair in front of him. 

“I like the sound of that,” she smiles sweetly at him. 

“I’ll pick you up at 7.” Tristan leans down to kiss her. “I’ll see you then.” 

*****

Faith pulls into her parking spot, shutting off the car engine, subconsciously scanning the visitor spaces for Oliver's car. She couldn't help but sigh with disappointment when she didn't spot his SUV. She grabs her bag with her laptop and paperwork and makes her way up to her apartment. Turning the key quickly she shoves the door open, hanging her keys on the hook just inside the door. She drops her bag on the corner of one of the kitchen chairs, pulling off her heels.

Walking past the table in the corner towards the living room she smiles, spotting a sweatshirt, keys and a few loose papers lying on the floor. Peeking her head around the wall she spots Oliver asleep on her sofa. She collects his stuff from the floor and places it up on the table. The bright orange ink at the top of the paperwork causes her breath to catch in her throat. Greater Seattle Memorial Hospital. She peeks over to make sure he was asleep before flipping through the pages. No fracture, no concussion, nine stitches, anti-inflammatory medication...But the part that got to her wasn't anything medical. Emergency contact: Faith McCallium. He listed her as his emergency contact. Not his parents, his family or friends. He chose her.

She gently sets the papers down, folds his sweatshirt and places his keys on top. Walking over to the sofa, a grin spreads across her lips at the sight in front of her. Oliver has one arm tucked under the back of his head, his head turned to the side leaving his right cheek exposed. The swollen welt exposing the bright purple and black battle wound with a freshly stitched inch and a half gash. The white shirt he was wearing was stained with small red blood spots. Lying next to him on the pillow is a half-melted bag of frozen peas, which had obviously fallen from his swollen face and is now leaving a small water mark on the pillow. His body taking calm, rhythmic breaths, indicating a deep sleep. His lips turning up at the corners ever so slightly forming a small smile. His resting eyes guarded by long, brown eyelashes. Faiths heart swells watching him sleep. She pulls her cellphone from her pocket snapping a quick picture.

Plopping down quietly in the recliner opposite the sofa, Faith sends the photo over to Shayna. She switches the phone to silent, not wanting to disturb him when she replies.

**Faith (2:26pm):** _Came home to this..._  
 **Faith (2:27pm):** _*picture*_  
 **Faith (2:27pm):** _My heart is exploding. Look how perfect he looks._  
 **Faith (2:27pm):** _but his poor face :(_  
 **Shayna (4:41pm): Sorry, was in with JP. Ouch, what a shiner that ended up being. How's he doing?**  
 **Shayna (5:02pm): Everything ok?.... ?**  
 **Shayna (5:16pm): Text me later, going out with Tristan tonight! <3 **  
**Faith (8:33pm):** _Sorry, I fell asleep in the recliner. He's been asleep since I got home. 9 Stitches :(_  
 **Shayna (8:34pm): Jesus.**  
 **Shayna (8:34pm): Hunter really let him have it, huh?**  
 **Faith (8:36pm):** _I feel so bad. All of this is because of me._  
 **Shayna (8:37pm): I'd fight for you too :-* but let's hope he remembers you.... Concussion sex. That's gotta be a new one.**  
 **Faith (8:39pm):** _Actually no, we've done that before. But LOL he doesnt have a concussion, and who says we're having sex?_  
 **Shayna (8:39pm): the man took a slug from Hunter Milda for you, the least you could do is give him a little ass...**  
 **Faith (8:40pm):** _He's got a huge gash on his face. I bet the last thing on his mind right now is getting laid._  
 **Shayna (8:40pm): Tristan says “getting laid is always on our minds. Especially when we’re injured” ... But really. He earned it! Go 'take care' of Ollie. Hint hint wink wink. :D**  
 **Faith (8:42pm):** _GOODBYE SHAYNA._

Faith switches her phone off, looking back to the sleeping Oliver. She walks over to him, carefully removing the bag of peas which was beginning to leak more now that the contents have melted. She quickly tosses them in the sink to finish defrosting. Kneeling next to the sofa she gently runs her fingertips over his shoulder, across his bicep and down his forearm, tracing the outlines of his muscles as she goes. Oliver was an average build, not overly tall, and not overly muscular, but his proportions were just right in Faith’s eyes. She gingerly picks up his free hand, placing soft kisses on each one of his swollen knuckles. She lifts her gaze to his face, taking in every inch of him. From his shielded brown eyes, to the fresh wound on his cheek, to his pursed lips. Faith delicately runs her fingers over his bruised cheek, following her fingertips lightly with her lips. As she seals his wound with a kiss, Oliver stirs slightly beneath her, no doubt the sensitive area causing him discomfort. As she continues her pursuit from just below his eye, she presses her lips lightly to his cheek, then to his jaw, tracing a finger over a small scar. Each of his imperfections made him more desirable in Faith’s opinion. She slowly outlined his lips before covering his mouth with a tender, barely there kiss.

A quiet sigh escapes Oliver’s lips as Faith continues to study his features. She slides her left hand up under the soft cotton of his shirt, allowing her fingers to graze over his abdominal muscles. She lifts the hem up slightly, exposing his lower stomach. Faith loved the feeling of Oliver’s skin against hers. She leans down, pressing her lips to the newly exposed area, her lips gazing his skin, her side swept bangs lightly tickling his skin. Her hand continues to slide up under his shirt towards his chest, across his pecks, and back down again. She watches as goose bumps form on his skin, indicating that he is reacting to her touch despite being asleep. She removes her hand from under his shirt and shifts her gaze to his lower half. With one finger, she traces across the band of his shorts, taking in the feeling of the smooth material under her fingertip. Faith lays her palm flat and lightly rubs down his thigh, his quadriceps strong. Faith smiles as Oliver stirs with another soft sigh, his eyes still closed. She gradually moves her hand across the front of his shorts, rubbing her palm gently against him, feeling him twitch beneath her. A smile forms on her lips bringing her eyes back up to Oliver’s face. His mouth was now slightly agape, his breathing staggering. She rubs her palm against him again, this time with a little more pressure. Oliver shifts slightly beneath her, letting out a soft moan. Faith bites her lip, watching the way his body reacts to her touch. She and Oliver had been together numerous times, most would classify their sexual history as primal or raw, but never had she experienced these kinds of moments with him. She bends down once more, kissing his mouth before nuzzling lightly into his neck. She let her teeth graze over the sensitive skin by his ear, giving a gentle nip. Faith let her hand slowly continue working on the growing bulge, paying special attention to take things slow. Low mumbling escapes from Oliver’s lips, his eyes struggling to open. Faith presses her mouth to his again, this time with more power. She’s greeted by a hand gently resting at the base of her neck.

Sitting back she gently removes her hand from him, breaking apart from their kiss. Oliver’s eyes, now open are dark with lust, searching Faith’s for answers. She reaches up softly running a thumb across his cheek, pouting her bottom lip.

Oliver reaches up, releasing the barrette from her hair, letting her curly brown locks cascade down over her shoulders. He smooths his hand over her curls, rolling a strand between his fingers. Faith brings her hand up to meet his, interlacing their fingers. She quickly rose to her feet extending her other hand to him, to help him sit up.

Pulling Oliver to his feet she wraps her arms around his neck bringing his mouth down onto hers. He drops his jaw, willingly accepting her tongue with a low groan. Oliver slid his arms around her, lowering his hands into her back pockets, cupping her ass. She rocks her pelvis against his in response, eliciting another throaty moan. Her fingers dig into his shoulders, tugging at his shirt. She was wound up and desperate to feel his skin on hers. She snakes one finger through the collar of his shirt and gives a tug guiding him towards her bedroom. Looking back over her shoulder she flashes him a quick smirk. His lips were pinker than normal, obviously engorged from their last kiss, his breath erratic, and his pupils dilated. She had Oliver exactly where she wanted him. 

Faith pauses as she enters her bedroom and slides her hands up the sides of his shirt, pulling it up as she goes. Paying close attention not to catch his face, she pulls it completely off and discards it, exposing his strong chest and chiseled abs. 

Faith places her hands on his chest, playfully pushing him backwards towards her bed and presses down on his shoulders, wanting him to sit back. Oliver snakes his arms around her pulling Faith down on top of him, causing her to giggle.

“I’ve missed hearing that sound” Oliver smiles, running his hands up and down her arms gently, giving her the chills.

Faith blushes, climbing on top of him, straddling his waist and sitting back on his thighs. “Why were you sleeping on my sofa?” she bends down running her lips over his exposed neck and shoulder. Alternating between soft kisses and playfully bites, breathing in his scent.

“The Docs told me to have someone keep an eye on me for the next 24 hours just to be safe…and this was really the only place I wanted to be…” he wraps his arms around her, placing one hand on the back of her head gently, his fingers slipping through her hair.

“What happened to your face” she flicked her tongue out, dipping down to the strong muscles of his chest. 

“Hunts was talking shit and I wasn't gonna let hi-“his breath caught in his throat as Faith rolled her hips under slowly, using the fact that she was sitting in his lap to her advantage. He swallowed hard. Oliver instinctively drops his hands down to her hips, shifting beneath her, trying to create more friction between them. “I wasn't gonna let him speak to me like that. So we fought... “

“Hunter has a good 6 inches on you…that fight was like a death wish for you…” she raised her eyes, to meet his briefly. She dropped her head down again, gently sucking on his Adam’s apple, pressing her chest against his.

Oliver leans his head back, giving her better access. “I know… but it wasn't about me at that point. I did what I had to do. I’m not scared of him, Faithy.” He massages her thighs gently through her slacks, his strong hands kneading the sensitive area.

Faith moaned against his throat, shoving her hips against his again, this time not so gently. “I feel like all of this. ALL of this… is my fault”. She sat up, admiring the quarter sized red mark glowing on his neck. “I think in your current state, I probably shouldn't let you have your way with me.” She sat up on her knees, scooting herself back from him.

Oliver's head shot up in a panic, with wide eyes. “What? Why? What’s wrong?”

Faith unbuttons her shirt, one button at a time, relishing the look on Oliver’s face as each came undone. “You should refrain from any…shall we call it strenuous activity?” She tosses her shirt to the side and pulls at one of his hands, placing it on the waistband of her pants.

Oliver fumbles with the button and zipper, pushing them down, her pants catching on her hips. Faith shifts pulling them off, then regaining her position on his lap. “You did this for me” she bends down giving his cheek a soft kiss before nuzzling into his neck and whispering in his ear. “Just let me take care of you tonight”.

Oliver’s hips involuntarily buck up as Faith whispers in his ear. She plants a kiss on his lips and smirks at him before sliding down his body, letting her fingertips graze over his skin. Faith curls her fingers under the band of his shorts, pulling them downward tortuously slow before pulling them off completely. “Faith please” Oliver breathes, begging her to touch him.

“Easy there tiger.” Faith chuckles, rubbing her hands across his hips “all in good time. Just relax.”

Faith’s eyes drift south, fixating on his cock. She silently pats herself on the back looking at how swollen and hard he is. He’s ready for her, and she can’t wait to please him. She licks her palm before wrapping her fingers around his length stroking him slowly.

A deep, throaty sigh escapes Oliver’s lips as he pushes his head back into the pillow, his eyes closing quickly. Faith handles him slowly, not wanting to escalate things too quickly. She shifts her position at his legs and leans down, flicking her tongue out over his swollen tip.

“Fuck, Faith…” Oliver moans, arching his back off the bed and pressing his hips up to her mouth.  
If there was one sound in the world that Faith loved, it was hearing Oliver moan her name. Something about the inflection in his voice sent shock waves to her core. She had him begging, it was only fair she deliver.

Faith lays flat on her belly, dipping her head down taking his shaft in her mouth in one swift motion. She sucks in hard, taking him deep, running her tongue down the underside of his cock. She feels him throbbing in her mouth, his head purple and swollen to capacity. She lets him fall from her lips, again wrapping her fingers around him stroking his length, this time with more force than the last.

“Yeah…just like that Faithy” Oliver whimpers at her his hands gripping at the sheet beneath him.

Faith took him back into her mouth, until he could go no farther. Her hands tracing lines on his thighs and hips while she rhythmically fucked him with her mouth. Oliver endures deep, slow sucking followed by a series of quick short bobs. She was pulling out all the stops to please him. 

Removing him from her mouth once more, Faith focuses her attention on his tip, running her thumb in slow circles around the edge while slowly stroking him with her other hand. She brings him close to the edge, then backs off, not wanting him to get off that easily. Why bother giving head if it was going to end so quickly?

Oliver winces at the lack of contact. “Please…” he shudders under her touch “I’m so close, Faith…”

Faith runs the tip of her tongue from the base of his shaft all the way up his length, before taking the tip into her mouth, ambushing it with her tongue. She laps at his cock repeatedly from all directions, letting it fall, and re-enter her mouth over and over. She increases the speed of her free hand on his length, knowing he wouldn't last much longer if she kept this up.

She works her hands up and down in unison with her mouth. Oliver threw one of his hands in her hair, guiding her, keeping the pace. “Oh god…” he growls, his grip tightening on her head.

A grin spreads across Faith’s face. She knows that sound, and he couldn't take anymore. She takes him deep again, his tip ramming the back of her throat as he explodes in her mouth with a loud moan and a handful of incoherent sounds. Faith sucks hard, swallowing it all as he strains and shakes beneath her, milking his orgasm for every last drop. 

“Oh…my god” Oliver pants. His hand falls from the back of her head while his cock trembles and throbs inside her mouth. Faith waits patiently for him to come down before gently raising her head up. She releases him from her mouth slowly, taking special care to flick his hypersensitive tip on the way out. 

“FAITH” His voice strains as she continues to tease him. 

“Oops?” Faith giggles, resting her chin on his thigh.

“Yeah yeah...Oops my ass” he smirks, running his hand down her cheek slowly. 

“Oh baby, I haven’t even begun with your ass yet…” she bites her lip playfully and wiggles her eyebrows at him. 

Oliver chuckles shaking his head. “Come here” he rubs his hand on the vacant spot next to him on her bed. 

Faith pushes herself up to her knees, crawling up the bed towards him. In one swift motion Oliver grabs her, flipping them over, pinning her beneath him.

“Don’t even think about it, Moreno…” Faith rested her hands on his bare thighs, giving him a look

“Baby, I’ve been thinking about it since Florida” Oliver bends down, latching on to her neck, running his tongue over the sensitive skin.

“You’re supposed to be relaxing” Faith gives his ass a swift smack in opposition, no doubt leaving a hand print.

Oliver, startled by her slap, bites down forcefully on her neck, leaving a bright red set of teeth marks. Faith yelps and moans at the same time, digging her nails into his hips, loving the combination of pleasure and pain.

“Shit, Faith, I’m sorry” he raises his head, seeing the look on her face. A slow grin creeps across his face “You…liked that…”

Faith nods slowly “that felt good…really good…but don’t think that changes things”.

Oliver pouts, resting his weight on her, giving her lips a peck “Come on Faithy, you know you want it…”

She chuckles “Oh, I do want it babe. That’s not even a question. But I want you to rest. You have a game tomorrow, and your face is so swollen now you can’t even open your right eye…”

“That’s not all that’s swollen” Oliver breathes into her ear, pressing his naked body hard into hers. A thin layer of cotton is all that’s stopping him from burying himself deep inside of her. “I can feel how wet you are…how worked up you’re getting.” He continues grinding his hips slowly into hers, determined to win her over.

Faith whimpers beneath him, trying to shove his body off of hers “You’re not playing fair”.

“I think it’s very fair” his hands sliding up her body cupping her breasts, squeezing and rolling the sensitive skin beneath his palms. “You made me feel good…” he drops his head down kissing and licking the soft skin exposed from her bra. “I make you feel good”.

Faith swallows hard, trying desperately to resist the temptation. “You can dry hump me all night Ollie…but-”

“But eventually, you’ll let me fuck you until you can’t see straight?” He bit down gently on her nipple.

Faith slams her head back into the pillow, frustrated. “Jesus Christ Oll’s you’re killing me…”

Oliver lifts his head, leaning up placing a long kiss on her lips “Okay, I’m sorry. ” He moves his body off of hers, laying down next to her. He wraps his arm around her, spooning her in to him. “I know you’re just trying to take care of me”

“Thank you” Faith smiles a little, looking over her shoulder at him, leaning back for another kiss “Sorry you’re sleeping with a boner” she smirks

Oliver busts out laughing “I’m used to it...Sorry its digging into your ass…and not in the good way”

Faith shoved back with her elbow chuckling “Goodnight jackass”


	6. I'll take the pleasure, take it with the pain...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are really starting to heat up.  
> Tristan and Shayna go on a date.  
> The team plays a game. 
> 
> Stuff..... lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The usual thanks as before. Not much else for notes..... 
> 
> Chapter title from Arianna Grande's - Love Me Harder. Seems fitting ;)

**Chapter 6**

“I hope you don’t mind a steakhouse. It seemed like a logical place to go because it’s not too fancy. I didn’t think you were the type of girl for a ultra fancy dinner,” Tristan smiles as he holds the door open to the restaurant for Shayna.

“It’s like you know me, alright. You had me at steak,” Shayna laughs walking into reception area of Hugo. “This is probably one of my favorite places to go. We usually come here for my birthday. A friend of mine is a chef here.” 

The girl at the reception desk eyes up Tristan, plastering a huge smile on her face as he talks to her about a table. Shayna can’t help but snicker when the girl goes out of her way to seat them. Tristan rolls his eyes as he takes her hand to lead her to the table, a booth in the back corner.

“I just want to say, this is not how a typical day in my life goes. Players aren’t usually fighting over my best friend, we’re generally boring for the most part. Office time, games, maybe drooling over you guys for a little, girl stuff. Faith would say otherwise but we’re pretty low key,” Shayna shrugs after settling down in the booth. Tristan starts laughing hard. 

“I would hope it’s not. It’s going to be interesting to see where this is all going though…. with… with Faith,” Tristan coughs, pulling his napkin out placing it on his lap. 

“Mmm, yeah,” Shayna nods, taking a sip of her water. 

The waiter approaches the table taking their orders and walking away. 

“So, I’m sure you know plenty about me…. I feel like this is where I get to know information about you other than the random stuff you post on Instagram,” Tristan smirks. 

“You look at my instagram?” Shayna scrunches her nose. “I mean, I always thought you probably looked but I didn’t want to seem crazy.” He shrugs his shoulder. “Gotcha. So me, about me. Well I told you I’ve always grown up around hockey. My grandfather was a coach for juniors. My brothers weren’t really into hockey, but I always was fascinated with it. I did want to play but my mom wouldn’t let me so, they ended up putting me in dance classes and gymnastics. As I got older I started helping out with my grandfather’s team. Eventually I worked for them for a bit during college and did part of my internship there. It was a great stepping stone for my job now.” 

“That’s pretty interesting how you’ve been around hockey all your life.” 

“It was nice. My mom always knew I’d end up working for a professional team. I enjoy it.”

“And did you ever date any of the players?”

“Once. During my internship in juniors, I dated Jonathan Reilly. He was on the team at the time. He now plays for Toronto. I’m sure you know of him.” Shayna fidgets with her napkin on her lap looking down. “I um, we…. we obviously didn’t make it and we broke off when he made it pro. He keeps in contact and we are friends for the most part. And we…. we have hooked up when he’s been here... drunkenly.” 

“Jonathan Reilly? Really? I rocked the shit out of him last season,” Tristan laughs looking proud. “He wouldn’t stop running his mouth on the ice and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why other than him being such an aggressive dick.” 

“I know, it might have been my fault. He knows about my crush on you. He was over my place last season, the night before that game and I had my jersey with your name on it hanging off a chair because I had worn it to I don’t know somewhere… he had seen it. I think that’s when he took it a little personal. Sorry….” 

“How many jerseys do you have with my name on them?” Tristan’s eyes glittering with amusement. 

“You’ve signed two. The one you picked up last week is the third. They get dirty, don’t look at me like that,” Shayna rolls her eyes at Tristan who is clearly enjoying her squirming.

“Shayna, Shayna, Shayna…. what am I going to do with you?” he grins at her as she stares at him, mouth agape slightly. 

“What do you mean, do with me?” she asks, sitting back to her plate could be placed in front of her on the table. 

“Just a secret though…” he leans over to her, “it’s been mutual.” He sits back, thanking the waiter for his plate as he picks up his knife and fork. 

“Wait, wait… what?” Shayna drops her fork onto the table. “Mutual?” 

“As I told you, I’ve wanted to talk to you. Opportunities have presented themselves and I never did anything. You have either been in the office or with your friends. I have been a little guilty though. The other day I hit the puck off the glass at you and blamed it on Gavs. I’ve stood at the glass in front of you on purpose just to see you turn red. You look so adorable when you are flustered. I don’t know what it is, it just amuses me. I don’t know what is was about the other day, maybe because we ran into each other on suite level. I just felt I had to do something.” 

“I’m happy you did. I was confused, but happy nonetheless,” Shayna snorts. “Confused as to why now but…. still excited.” 

***** 

Shayna tries to unlock her apartment door with Tristan directly behind her, his hand in her hair drawing slow circles on the nape of her neck. 

“Honestly, I’ll never open this door if you keep doing that. You have no idea what that does….” Shayna glares at him, eyes wide holding her key up. He takes it from her, unlocking the door with one hand, smirk on his face. 

“There you go,” he lets go of her handing her keys back to her as she pushes the door open for them. She shakes her head as she drops her purse to the counter, kicking her shoes off under the chair. Turning around she collides with Tristan, his hands in her hair, pulling her close to him, his lips crashing to hers sparing no time. Hungrily, he kisses her, tongue swiping at her mouth. 

Shayna runs her hands down his muscular torso, grabbing at the hem of his long sleeved black henley shirt pulling it up. Breaking their kiss, he pulls it over his head tossing it to the floor. Grabbing at the belt loops in his jeans, she leads him to the couch pushing him back to the lounge. Tristan sits up as he tugs at the bottom of her black light sweater. In one move he pulls the sweater up while wrapping an arm around her to drop her to the cushions. He throws the sweater over the couch leaning down as he starts placing kisses on her neck.. Shayna runs her fingers through his short hair, tugging slightly earning herself bites from Tristan. 

Tristan runs his hand along her cotton clad side, his fingers bunching the material as he kisses a path down from her clavicle to the swell of her breasts just above the lace of her shirt. He lifts the material up over her black bra and over her head. Shayna arches her back to him as his fingers trace light circles along her ribs under her breasts causing goosebumps in their wake. 

“Tristan….” Shayna moans as he runs a finger into her bra, grazing her tender flesh pushing the soft lace material back exposing her to his mouth. He leans down sucking her nipple into his mouth, his tongue expertly teasing at the nub as his large fingers knead the mound of flesh. He switches sides, continuing his work on the other breast. Shayna lifts her foot up, hooking her leg around his hip.

“Getting ahead of yourself aren’t you?” he laughs, picking his head up from her chest, his breath warm on her damp skin as he breathes out. 

“Mmm, no?” Shayna lifts an eyebrow to him as she sits up, hands grabbing at his neck pulling him in for a mouthy kiss, their tongues dueling back and forth. Tristan reaches behind her unhooking her bra, sliding the straps down her arms. Shayna leans up pushing him to sitting position, kneeling now to straddle him, her arms on his shoulders on either side of his head. She kisses him quick and needy, running her fingers through his hair roughly. “Bedroom?” she asks between kisses to his neck and jaw. 

Tristan shifts forward, grabbing her ass and standing in one swift motion. Shayna wraps her legs around his waist locking her feet behind him. She wraps her arms around his shoulders as he walks towards her bedroom dropping her to the bed. He sidesteps to the nightstand switching on the small light just so there is enough light to see. Shayna lays back to her elbows, legs straight out in front of her running her feet on the front of his jeans up and down the inseam. 

“Oh, I’m sorry do you want these gone?” Tristan grabs her legs by the calves as he steps in between them, fingers running up the top of thighs. He reaches up to the buttons, long fingers popping the three buttons in quick succession, gently pulling the zipper down. Hooking his fingers into the waist above the pockets he pulls slightly causing Shayna to slide to him. “Ugh, skinny jeans,” he scoffs causing her to laugh as she reaches down lifting slightly to push the jeans and her lace panties down to help him. He rolls them down finally helping her shimmy out of the last bit before throwing them at the closet doors with a laugh.

Shayna sits up on the edge of the bed, Tristan still standing against the mattress between her legs as she pulls at the waistband of his jeans. His black boxer briefs band is just peaking out above the denim material. Shayna runs a finger under the soft jersey material stopping just above the tiny bit soft hair at his naval. She feels around the soft hair over the tight taut muscles of his abdomen, reaching a little further just above the base of his cock receiving a deep moan from Tristan. She smirks at him, looking him in the eyes as she unbuttons his jeans, slowly unzipping the fly, knuckles trailing over his now hard erection straining against the rough material of his pants. He reaches out, hand cupping the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair to trace his fingers on her scalp. She closes her eyes, taking a deep ragged breath. 

“What did I tell you about that….” she opens her eyes, pupils dilated and glassy glaring up at him. “You’ll never get to the next part you keep that up.” He laughs, fingers tangling tighter pulling her head back. Her mouth gapes causing a whimper as he leans down so they are face to face. 

“Continue,” he growls softly, tongue lapping at her lip. She smirks again, fingers abandoning his boxers to grab at the elastic band and push them and his jeans in one shot down over his muscular hips to his knees. His cock springs free from his boxers, painfully erect, hard and thick. Pre cum glistens on the slit, the head flushed red. Shayna licks her lips leaning forward, swiping at the tip. She licks her hand twice before she wraps around his shaft sliding up and down briefly as she licks again at his head, tongue lapping at the white liquid beading. His free hand cups her cheek, softly stroking her jaw as she takes the tip of his cock into her mouth. 

Her tongue is warm and soft as it slides along his length, her hands dropping to his hips. She takes him until his head nudges the back of her throat. She tries to relax her gag reflex, taking a little more before retreating back, lips dragging across his skin. She hollows her cheeks for a little more suction, dropping back down two more times before she releases him from her mouth. She leans in using her hand to steady him as she licks around the crown, sucking at the vain on the underside. She licks a stripe down the entire underside before taking the entire tip back into her mouth. Using extra spit she runs her tongue around the head, poking her tongue into the slit. She takes the length again a few times deep with hollow cheeks again sucking a little harder with each intake.

“Shaaaayyyy…. fuck…. Shay, Shayna… baby I’m not going to fucking last if you keep that up….” Tristan moans slowly sending chills up Shayna’s spine, his accent hard on the syllables of each word. He pulls at her hair, pulling her off with a wet pop of her lips. She sits up as he releases her with a grin taking in his frame in front of her. She leans over to her nightstand beside him opening a drawer for him to reach in for a foiled condom packet. He rips it open, tossing the packet to the stand as he rolls the latex down his length. 

Shayna reaches back, pulling herself to the center of the bed to make room for Tristan to crawl up on the bed above her. He reaches for her, bringing her to him pulling her on to his lap as he kneels directing his cock to her center. She lifts up as he enters her, filling her quickly. He wraps an arm around her lower back to steady her as she wraps her arms around his shoulders. 

She kisses him, raw and greedy as she wraps her legs around his back pulling him as close as she can get him when he starts to lift her with a slow rocking motion. 

“Tristan….” Shayna breathes into his ear resting her chin on his shoulder. One of her hands drops to his shoulder blades, the other in his hair. He picks up his pace using his legs for leverage. He reaches up to her hair again pulling so her head tips back for her arch her back slightly revealing her neck for him. He zones in, biting just above her collar bone sucking hard. She claws at his shoulder blade, trying to remember not to mark him hard. They keep the rhythm steady for a few beats.

Tristan lets go of her neck satisfied with the purple mark he’s left her with as he looks up to come face to face with her. Her eyes are wide dark, barely any brown to be seen as he presses his forehead to hers. She reaches out to kiss him again, their lips crashing together wet and sloppy with the movement between them. Shayna whimpers with a shiver of pleasure as their tongues meet. 

“Oh Tristan…. Deni…… Deni…… ughhhh,” she moans, breath hot on Tristan’s ear. He nips at her neck, grabbing her hard around her back as he lifts up dropping her to her back with him on top of her. He lifts her legs, unhooking them from his back lifting one to bend in front of him. “Yes…. Deni, yes harder…” 

He grins as he squeezes her leg quickening his thrusts, the sound of skin on skin picking up echoing in the room. 

“Shay…. fuck…..” Tristan moves faster as he leans forward more, deepening each time he pushes into her. He breaks, thrusting now as hard and fast as he can. “I’m going… are you with me?” he asks looking down at her panting frame below him, whimpering his name softly. 

“Yes… Deni….. YES…..” she moans again as he grabs her shoulder for extra leverage as he thrusts hard two more times. 

“Shaynaaaa….. Shayyy…. Shayna…” Tristan comes with a tightness in his abdomen and shudder. His eyes close as Shayna tightens around him, her own release exploding around her. 

Tristan rides it a few seconds longer, calming down before he pulls out letting go of Shayna’s leg placing it beside him softly. He slides back to the edge of the bed taking the condom off, knotting the end and tossing it into the garbage pail next to the night stand. He looks to Shayna who is still laying on her back, legs out in front of her, arm over her eyes breathing heavy. He pats her leg nodding for her to scoot to the head of the bed. 

Shayna rolls up to the head of the bed, pulling the duvet out from under the pillows, swinging her legs under as Tristan slides in next to her. 

“You called me Deni….” he laughs as she snuggles up next to him laying her head on his chest. 

“Oh… haha, I did, didn’t I?” she blushes. “Do…. you not want me call you that? I mean I don’t have to. Just kinda happened.”

“It’s fine, just going to be weird when anyone on the team says it,” Tristan lightly runs his hand through her hair. “Are you going to be on the bus tomorrow for California with the team?” 

“Apparently I will. According to Faith I’ll be her assistant for the trip. I think she just needs me as a buffer and support. Either way, I’ll be happier to be in warmer weather for a few days.” 

“That’s exciting. I can’t wait,” Tristan yawns, closing his eyes. 

“Goodnight Tristan,” Shayna nuzzles into his chest, her arm across his abdomen. 

“Goodnight Shayna,” Tristan kisses her forehead as he puts his arm above his head. 

***** 

Shayna sits on the couch, teacup in hand, wrapped in her navy and white polka dot robe watching as Tristan strolls out of her bedroom shirtless, clad in his jeans from the night before as he walks to the pile of discarded clothing she cleaned up this morning. He picks up and tosses his black long sleeve over his head pushing his arms through, adjusting the buttons on the collar.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take your sweatshirt? Nothing like the walk of shame in the clothes from the night before,” Shayna laughs as she tilts her head back against the couch looking up at him above her.  
“It’s fine, I told you to keep that. Stop trying to give it back,” he chuckles coming back around to sit on the couch to put his sneakers on. “By the way, pack it for later.” 

“Gotcha,” Shayna gives him a thumbs up as she takes a sip of her tea. “I guess I’ll see you at the arena then?” 

“You going to watch warm ups?” he raises an eyebrow at her with a bit of a half smile. 

“I don’t know, usually we don’t. I don’t know what Faith will be up to. I doubt Ollie will be playing so I don’t know if he’ll be following her around suite level like a lost puppy or if she will be banging on the glass for Hunter. I have no idea.” 

“Just come down by yourself then. Who cares what anyone else does? It would be nice to see you at the glass,” he pouts, lower lip slightly extended as he finishes tying his shoes.

Shayna rolls her eyes at him, “I mean I suppose I can. I hear this player…. ugh what’s his name, he’s number 22? He has a nice ass in hockey pants. I did want to get a closer look for myself.” She ducks avoiding a throw pillow that goes sailing past her to the floor. 

“I’ll see you later on then,” Tristan laughs as he stands from the couch walking towards her. He leans down kissing her sweetly, hand tangling in her hair pulling her forward. Shayna moans slightly, smiling as he pulls away. 

“See you…” she replies as he walks around the couch, grabbing his keys and wallet from the counter heading towards the door. 

*****

“I’m going down to watch warm ups. Is Oliver playing tonight?” Shayna asks swiveling back and forth in her desk chair. 

“Of course he’s playing. He’s in perfect shape other than his face, but it has gotten much better from last night” Faith smiles, clearing off her desk “I’m just finishing this stuff up and then I’m heading down!” 

“Oooohhh, I hear that smile in your voice!” Shayna smirks “You totally had sex with him last night, didn’t you?” Shayna cracks up. 

“EXCUSE ME!” Faith chuckles “No, I did NOT have sex with him, thank you very much. He needed to relax.”

“Oh, and I’m sure you helped him do that...didn’t you” Shayna egged her on “I bet you took special care of that…”

“MAYBE...And since we’re on the subject of ‘taking special care’, what activities did you and Trisssstannnn get into last night?” Faith shouts over Shayna’s laughing, noting the immediate silence from the other end of the phone. “Mmmhmm, thats what I thought.” 

“We went to dinner at Hugo’s, walked around the pier…” Shayna giggles.”You know, date stuff.” 

“Yeah, ok, whatever you say Shayna” Faith laughed “You realize you’re giving me EVERY detail downstairs, right?”

“I’ll see you at 5 at the elevators” 

“Yes! See ya then.” 

***** 

“Well, this is going to be interesting,” Shayna looks over to Faith in the penalty box. “I’m surprised coach is letting them play, honestly…”

“More importantly, who are you going to cheer for?” Audrey looks over to Faith who is standing with her back against the glass, drink in hand. 

“I’m rooting for everyone. I’ve decided that I’m not singling either one of them out… I like Oliver, and I like Hunter. They both like me. I’m just gonna go out on dates with each of them...’test the waters’ if you will…” Faith bites her bottom lip “Nothing wrong with that….right?” She looks between the two girls for reassurance.

“No need to pick at this point I guess. Just see what happens!” Audrey smiles.

“Yeah, see who’s pants it takes you too….” Shayna laughs shrugging holding up her cup. 

“Thats an unfair way to decide… I’ve already been in Oliver’s pants….several times!” Faith smirks.

“Forgot about that.” Shayna chuckles.

“SO SHAYNA, Why don’t you have on your new sweatshirt from Tristan? Hmm?” Faith sasses, eyebrow raised. 

“I’m not wearing that outside until I’m told to,” Shayna murmurs into her plastic cup. “Nothing is official.” 

“Wait….. Jesus, one week away from you both and I’m so behind on gossip. I am so lost, Oliver’s pants? Tristan’s Sweatshirt?” Audrey pouts from the wooden bench. “You girls have a lot of explaining to do.”

The house lights come up, “Blame” starts playing over the PA system. London comes out of the tunnel, team following him taking their laps around the ice. Tristan is the fourth player out, he skates down the middle of the ice grabbing a puck taking a shot at the net. He skates up the boards past the short glass. He goes back around taking a shot again, missing, it slams off the glass. He skates back around up to the blue line to his usual spot to start his stretching. He catches the girls in the penalty box, a smile growing across his face as his eyes lock with Shayna. 

“And there you go Audrey. No need to elaborate on that one….” Faith points to Shayna who’s facing the glass huge grin on her face, cheeks slightly red. 

“So wait...are you and Deni a thing now? I thought you two just awkwardly ran into each other all the time?” Audrey asks with an eyebrow raised.

“We’re....friends?” A dark blush fills her cheeks. 

“And the Benefits are AWESOME” Faith chimes in with a smirk 

“Shut your face, here comes Hunter,” Shayna points to her left not breaking her stare, Tristan stretching below her on the ice. 

Hunter skates out down the middle of the ice taking a shot at the net. He skates around the boards coming up towards the penalty box. Faith turns watching him come up the short side. He smiles, winking at her as he comes up to the box. He holds his stick out tapping the glass in front of Faith.

“You have no idea how much I want to be angry at him...but I can’t” Faith swoons at the attention, smiling back at him. “I want to kick his ass, and call him a bully, and….he just turns me to jelly.” 

Tristan stands from his position, drifting back to the boards where Shayna has been watching. His shoulders bump into the glass as he turns his head slightly to catch a glimpse of Shayna. She laughs at him, pushing the glass back. 

“God this is disgusting, you’re both so gross!” Faith laughs, yelling at the glass. Tristan lifts his stick over his shoulder tapping the glass in front of her, shaking his head as he takes off down the center of the ice. 

Oliver skates out a few minutes behind everyone else, stepping on the ice with a huge cage on the front of his helmet. His upper cheek is a dark purple with a bits of yellow-green around the edges. The entire area is still swollen around the stitched cut on his face. He skates down the icea taking a shot on net, swinging around to come up the boards to the penalty box. 

Faith frowns, “Ugh, it was looking better this morning...and now it looks worse!”

Audrey gives her a confused look “There was practice this morning?”

A smile creeps across Faith’s face as she turns back to the glass “....not exactly…”

“Faithy here was playing nurse to her sweet Oliver last night.So tell us Faith, did you lick his wounds?” Shayna nudges her suggestively, only to be quickly swatted away by Faith. 

“SHAYNA!” she laughs. “Jesus, do I have to tell you everything?”

Audrey and Shayna spoke in unison “YES!”

“His wounds were tended to, and he’s fine,” a stupid grin spreading across her face. “A pain in my ass, but he’s fine.” 

“And both of you know about the employee fraternization policy…” Audrey raises an eyebrow at the girls.

“Oh,” Faith waves her hand. “Yeah, I wouldn’t stress about that. JP already knows.” 

“What do you mean, he knows?” Shayna gives her a look.

“Remember that bottle of Goose?” Faith chuckles “Well… Ollie and I were in the hallway...and JP caught us in a pretty heated make out session...told us to go inside so no one would see us. He didn’t seem to care.” 

“Just be careful” Audrey warns. 

“No one will know...the hallway thing was a rare incident. It just kinda happened.” Faith shrugs

“...and me and Deni only had dinner, we didn’t like make out at the bar or anything” Shayna adds.

“I know you two are smart girls...but just remember that someone is always watching, even when you think they aren't…” Audrey smiles sympathetically “I just don’t want to see anything bad happen.”

The girls make their way up to the President’s Suite for the start of the game. Shayna grabs a beer from the fridge drawer and walks over to a seat on the uncovered part of the suite. 

Faith plops herself down next to her, kicking off her heels “Why can’t I have a normal job where I get to wear flats.”

“Because your job is awesome?” Shayna chuckles “And if you wore flats, than you’d be about the same height as Kopecky” 

“Shut up” Faith shoves her with a laugh “Note to self, these new ones hurt” she rubs her foot. 

The first two periods of the game are fast paced and hard hitting. The Scarlet spent most of the time in their defensive zone thanks to a handful of sloppy plays in the neutral zone and some lazy penalties. The 3rd period continues in much of the same manner, the Scarlet going down 1-0 with less than 8 minutes left in the game. Coach began to shuffle the lines, changing the combinations every shift. 

“What the hell is he doing?” Shayna grumbles, annoyed. 

“I swear to god Shay….” Faith’s jaw drops looking at the new line taking the ice. Jiri, Hunter and Oliver. “Oh god I can’t watch this…”

Shayna sat up in her chair with a smirk “Can there be 5 minute majors for fighting your own team?” 

“Shut up….OH OH...!” Faith swatted her, leaning towards the edge of the ledge as Kopecky tipped the puck out of the zone directly to Tristan who has just jumped off the bench. “COME ON DENI!” 

Shayna snaps her head around just as Tristan went flying into the attack zone and netted the Scarlet’s tying goal with 2:12 left to play. He was quickly surrounded by the other 4 skaters and received a barrage of slaps, pats and fist bumps. 

“Look at his smile!” Shayna smiles watching Tristan sitting on the bench, “I can see it from here!” 

“I know!! I’m so happy for him! Did you see how fast he skated?! Its like he had some extra pep in his step today…Did he put some of his pep in YOUR step?” Faith wiggles her eyebrows at Shayna suggestively

Shayna laughs loudly “Ughhhh god yes” she whines happily “SO much pep, we should be up by 8...maybe 9 goals?” Shayna held her hands up, mimicking 8 to 9 inches in front of her

“Wow, 9 goals, eh?” Faiths eyes got wide “Jesus, thats a lot of pep...”

“So much pep” Shayna bit her lip leaning back in her seat, thinking about last night with Tristan.

“Girl…” Faith pretended to fan her “That good? Really? You’re bright red!” she chuckles. 

“Faith you don’t even know. He’s very… intense” Shayna turns her head to face her “He knows what he wants, and he takes it.”

“Who knew Deni was a fireball in the bedroom” Faith smirks “Mr. Awkward Staring has some kink to him! I can’t wait to hear more” she chuckles

The horn sounds, signaling the end of regulation play snapping both girls out of their giggle-fest about Tristan.

“I would seriously rather lose every game than have to sit through one more of these” Shayna whines, grabbing a handful of pretzels “Overtime gives me indigestion.” 

Faith nods in agreement “I agree, I hate this crap.” 

The girls watch the 5 minute overtime period from the edge of their seats. The time goes quickly, the puck flying from end to end with no score. 

“Fuck the fucking shoot out, fuck!” Faith curses throwing her napkin on the floor dramatically. 

“Well, we should just leave now” Shayna slumps down in her chair “LET ME GUESS, someone will shoot it wide… like always. Anders will do the only move he knows, the shoulder fake, and the goalie will anticipate it, and then the last shooter will hit the pipe” 

Faith nods “That seems like a fair guess… and don’t forget - London will get beat five-hole on the 1st shooter”

**Arlington Shooter: Alton….Misses**

“Thank god…..” Shayna shakes her head, hands clenched together. “Wonder who is up fir---- oh christ on a cracker it’s Hunter….” 

Faith looks up from her chair “Come on Hunts….. come on….” 

Hunter hops the boards, skating to center ice. He receives the nod from official. Forehand, backhand…. dangle…. and he misses shooting wide. 

**Scarlet Shooter: Milda….Misses**

Shayna throws her empty plastic cup over her shoulder. “Saw that one coming from here!” she yells. Faith grimaces. 

“Stop throwing shit,” JP yells from the bar behind them. “Or I’m gonna start…” 

**Arlington Shooter: Danvers….Misses**

“We are so lucky we have London right now…. It would be NICE if someone could score for once.” The sound of ice clinking glass can be heard from behind the girls. 

“Better start pouring for everyone…. here’s Logan. Wait wait, FOREHAND to the glove, no lift. He’ll get him down but not lift it.” Shayna scoffs. 

Logan does exactly what Shayna calls. “TOLD YOU.” 

**Scarlet Shooter: Casper….Misses**

“Pass that bottle this way JP. I’m not going on the bus sober,” Faith turns leaning back in her chair. 

“Shush….” JP waves to Faith, bottle still in his left hand. 

**Arlington Shooter: Wonka….Misses**

Oliver hops over the boards, skating to the center of the ice, shaking out each of his legs. 

“Oh Holy Mary Mother of God in Heaven” Faith drops her head to her hands “I can’t watch...”

Shayna slaps her leg repeatedly. “YOU LIFT YOUR HEAD RIGHT NOW”. Much to her dismay, Faith lifts her head, watching Oliver intently. 

The ref blows the whistle and Oliver takes off down the ice. He carries the puck quickly past the hash marks and drags his blade far to the left. The goal drops down sliding to make the block, but Oliver elevates the puck on the backhand, sending it up and over the pads. 

“OH MY GOD” Shayna jumps out of her seat, pulling Faith up with her, cheering loudly “YEAH OLLIE!” 

Oliver rounds the net, skating back to center ice where he is greeted by a mob of his teammates. After the celebratory huddle begins to disperse he quickly unhooks the cage of his helmet and pulls it off. Looking up to the box where the girls were clapping he smiles at Faith, pointing the blade of his stick up to her before turning to head into the tunnel towards the locker room.

Faith blushes a deep shade of pink while continuing to clap for him, a huge smile creeping across her face. 

“I don’t know what the hell has gotten into that kid...or rather I should say, I don't know what that kid’s gotten into” JP nudges Faith with a smirk “but whatever it is, keep it up, he’s on a roll!” 

Shayna pats Faith’s arm, pointing over to the bench. The only person not celebrating Oliver’s goal? 

“Hunter” Faith frowns, staring at him sitting on the bench, hanging his head. After a couple of moments he stands and grabs his stick before forcefully snapping it in half, throwing it down on the bench. 

“Holy shit…” Shayna gasps, jaw gaping

Faith’s frown quickly turns into shock “Shay, I know I shouldn’t be turned on right now but-” .

“THAT was hot…” Shayna nods.

“But did you see his face?” Faith sighs 

“Oliver got the physical wound, Hunter got the emotional one” Shayna bends down, picking up her shoes “Not sure which one of those is worse.”

Faith nods slipping her shoes back on her feet “It’s gonna be a long bus ride…”


	7. Alone in the night 'til she knocks on my door...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Fucking California Road Trip..... there's been big talk about this trip. It doesn't disappoint in the beginning. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usual thanks..... Also thanks to everyone that's read this so far. I think if no one read it... we would probably still write it because it's been fun. I'm sure someone is enjoying it out there. :) 
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter title from Chains by Nick Jonas.

**Chapter 7**

Shayna grabs her rolling suitcase from her cubicle and heads down the hallway to a waiting Faith.

“This is probably going to be the most interesting trip I have ever taken in my life….” Shayna looks at Faith with an eyebrow raised pushing the call button for the elevator. “Can’t wait to see what happens…”

Faith makes a face “I’m actually kinda nervous… Promise me you won’t abandon me in my time of need to get nailed by Deni?”

“I would never. Plus, I don’t know how we are handling anything. I’m not going to just go bang him in the bathroom of a bus or plane. Give me some credit at least….” Shayna rolls her eyes.

“I wasn’t implying that we would be flying WhoreAir to California, Shayna. We ARE staying in a hotel you know” Faith gives her a shove “and this is one of my favvvoriteeeee hotels” she grins Hence why you NEEDED to come. Wait till you see this place!”

The elevator signals it’s arrival. Once at ground level the girls walk out the doors to the waiting bus, handing their suitcases to the driver.

“Ooh, no one is on the bus yet. They must still be in the locker room,” Shayna looks arounds the empty bus taking a seat a few rows back from the front.

A few minutes later players start loading on. Logan walks on giving a high five to Shayna as he walks by followed by London and Casey. Anders walks on next with the Czech crew, no reactions from any of them. Luca comes on while talking on his phone to Greta as he waves to the girls.

“Here comes Deni, when did he get that suit?” Faith stares out the window.

“What he’s not wearing the dark blue one?” Shayna shrugs looking over the seat waiting for Tristan to step on the bus.

“Oh no… no, no, no. This… must be new,” Faith laughs amused.

Tristan walks on the bus wearing a dark gray plaid suit, tailored perfectly to his body.

Faith whistles as he approaches the seats “Nice ass, Deni” she smirks.

“Aww, thanks Faith. Shayna….” he grins as he walks by nodding to the seats in the back.

Shayna sits there with her mouth hanging open.

Faith grabs her phone, snapping a picture of Shayna’s face. “Look! Now you two can match!” she smirks, holding it up to Shay’s phone with a picture of Tristan making the same face. “Now, go palm Deni in the back of the bus, but god help me if you leave me alone on that plane….”

“I….. uh….. no. I can’t. Not on the bus… jesus. I said I wouldn’t leave you…. even though…. JUST GO TO THE BACK TRISTAN….” Shayna drops her head to the seat in front of her waving her hand at him. Tristan laughs.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll be back here,” he walks off taking a seat behind them.

“He’s totally in love with you, you know…”

Shayna makes a sobbing noise “I can’t. I’m five seconds on this bus trip. He must have just gotten that suit. What a dick…. “

“Note: Five minutes into the trip and you’re already subconsciously thinking about his dick… This trip is going to be AWESOME!” Faith chuckles “Just keep Hunter and Oliver away from each other”

“Speak of the devil…” Shayna sits back up, pointing as she sees Oliver walk up to the bus.

“Nice Goal, Oll’s” Faith smiles at him.

Oliver rests his arm on the seats in front of the girls, “Thanks Faith…” his phone slips out of his hand down between the girls. Faith bends down to reach between them to retrieve it.

“Sorry Shay” He leans across Shayna sneaking a kiss from Faith “That goal was for you.” he stands back up with a smile taking the phone from her, his fingers lingering.

“I mean, I can get up if you wanna PALM anyone….” Shayna turns to Faith.

Faith chuckles “I don’t think the bus is the best place for that…” she looks up to Oliver “later?”

“What, you don’t want to come sit with me?” Oliver pushes out his bottom lip “Look at my face...its swollen” he points to his cheek.

“I’m sure that’s not all that’s swollen…” Shayna mutters.

“Amen to that one…” Tristan leans over the seat in front of him.

“Tristan….. shut up.” Shayna looks over the seat behind her. He blows a kiss at her as she glares back at him.

Faith chuckles “As much as I’d love to...you and I both know, it’s probably not the best idea.”

Oliver nods “Okay...but you still owe me from last night” he gives her the eyes “and I will collect…”

Faith turns a deep shade of red, dropping her eyes staring at her phone. “ooooookay….well, that.. yeah...”

JP approaches, patting Oliver enthusiastically on the back “Hell of a game, Oliver. Hell of a game!”

Oliver smiles “Thank you, sir.” he slides in the row behind the girls.

JP stands there staring at him “We didn’t win the cup, Ollie…don’t press your luck” he points to the back of the bus.

“Can’t blame me for trying, can you?” Oliver shrugs, heading down the aisle, sitting across from Tristan.

A few more players board the bus, chatting about the game, and the upcoming trip. The last player to board is Hunter. He steps on the bus, not his usual self. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, he had a bag hanging off his shoulder, but most importantly, his head was down. Expressionless.

“Hey Hunts” Faith smiles up at him.

“Hi” Hunter walks past the girls, not lifting his head.

“Salty much? Yikes,” Shayna shakes her head.

Faith frowns “He’s really taking this one hard…” she turns over her head to see him plop down in a seat alone, away from the rest of the team.

“Poor guy. Good thing you have two hands…. just kidding….” Shayna smiles.

“By the looks of it, I’m going to need them both!” Faith sighs, grabbing her phone shooting Hunter a quick text.

**Faith (11:18pm):** _You played a great game. Don’t let one missed shot ruin your day. We WON and we are going to California. I don’t like seeing you sad. :( <3_   


Coach St. Claire is the last one on the bus signaling the driver that everyone is on. The door closes and the bus starts off towards the airport. Fifteen minutes later they’re shuffling onto the tarmac on to the plane.

“Damn this is a lot nicer than I thought. I’ve never been on the team plane, “ Shayna says looking around.

“Oh...you have no idea. Wait till we get to the hotel” Faith practically bounces “It’s like heaven for living people!”

“I might have to permanently become your assistant to be on these trips if it’s this good.”

“God knows, dealing with this lot, I could use an assistant most days” Faith chuckles. “I’m glad you came” The girls walk towards the middle of the plane “I usual sprawl my lazy ass out in this row” Faith points to the row on the left “You can sit with me if you must...but theres a million other rows” she gives her a look.

“I’ll just sit in the row in front of you, I like to lounge if possible, get cozy,” Shayna points in front of her, throwing her carry on down.

Faith nods “That’s fine, atleast this way we can still talk!” She smiles “OH, and the plane has wifi too. So...you know. If you have any work or anything to do.”

“Sounds good. Are you saying there is work I should be doing? Or iMessage to Tristan is not acceptable?”

Faith laughs “Just don’t do anything that will get you into trouble, that’s all…”

“That’s fine, I have some work for Everly’s U10 team that I need to fix up and email to her, so I mean sure there is some work I can” she makes finger quotes “do if completely needed.”

“Exactly!” Faith kicks off her heels and sprawls across the seats with a sigh “The beds at the hotel are going to feel like heaven!” She smiles at Shayna. “You seriously have NO idea…”

“Good, I could pass out now as it is. I always sleep on flights,” Shayna sighs pulling off her shoes and placing them on her bag on the floor, wiggling her toes on the seat she’s spread out across. “I’m so tired.”

“It shouldn’t be a very long flight, you can nap if you want? I’d imagine most of the boys will be asleep as well…”

“Good enough,” Shayna hops up and grabs a travel pillow from the overhead bin, settling back down putting it against the wall. “Naps are good.”

“Better get that rest,” Tristan walks up the aisle smiling as he comes to the girls.

“Why are you seriously everywhere? You’re going to make me look bad….” Shayna opens an eye, arms crossed over her chest pulling her teal cardigan closer smirking at him as he stops at her seat.

Faith laughs “Jesus Deni, keep it in your pants”

Shayna looks at him, “I’m going to tie your hands together with that tie if you don’t keep moving.”

“Maybe I’ll let you,” Tristan smirks, lifting his bag up on his shoulder as he walks off down the aisle past them.

Faith leans forward to Shayna’s seat “$100 if you can tie him up, and get a picture for me” she smirks

“Deal. Think I won’t do it?” Shayna grins.

“NO! I think you WILL do it...and I can’t fucking wait!” she giggles

“It’s on.” Shayna leans back into the pillow smirking as she closes her eyes. “It’s so on.”

Faith gets settled into her seat pulling out her laptop when her phone chimes from her bag.

**Hunter (12:52am): _I may be a disappointment on the ice, but I can assure you, thats the only place I disappoint._**   
**Faith (12:53am):** _You’re not a disappointment on the ice. You impress me every night._   
**Hunter (12:53am): _You haven’t experienced me every night….Yet._**

“I can hear you smiling in my sleep…” Shayna looks between the seats at Faith. “Who?

Faith takes a breath “Hunts…” She turns her phone so Shayna can read the text “Shay I literally need to change my pants right now...FROM A TEXT.”

“Oh no he didn’t…. he said YET. Yet…. hope you packed extra condoms. Certainly going to need them this trip. Also better double up on your RedBull…” Shayna hands back the phone pretending to fan herself. 

**Faith (12:55am):** _I’m looking forward to it. :) Let’s have some fun this weekend._  
 **Hunter (12:56am): _I already have fun planned for you girls, and don’t ask, I’m not telling._**  
 **Faith (12:56am):** _I can’t wait to see whats up your sleeve. But I want to plan some fun for just us. _  
__ **Hunter (12:57am): _Plenty of time for that, don’t you worry._**  
 **Faith (12:57am):** _Time to sleep. ZzZzZ_  
 **Hunter (12:59am): _Sweet Dreams, Beautiful._**

__*******_ _

Faith walks to Shayna with a pile of key cards from the front desk handing her a sheet of paper. “Take this list, I also have a roster list in my bag there. We need to go down the list and write who has what room.” 

“Gotcha, I’ll write, you hand out.” Shayna nods pulling the Scarlet logoed folder from Faith’s bag. 

The next 20 minutes drag but they manage to get all 45 people to rooms including themselves. 

Shayna’s phone chimes from her pocket signaling a message. She takes it out of pocket as she grabs her suitcase. 

**Tristan (2:21am): _I hope you noted what room I was in. I’ll leave the suit on if you come up here. Gavs went to the bar with Logan and Casey._**  
 **Shayna (2:22am):** _No. I didn’t notice while I was helping room 45 other people. :/_  
 **Tristan (2:22am): _9024\. ;)_**  
 **Shayna (2:23am):** _Be there in 2ish…._

_“_ I’m heading up, I’ll check in with you when I wake up?” Shayna looks to Faith as they walk to the elevator bank. 

“That’s fine. Tell Tristan I said keep it to a minimum, it’s late and I’d like to get my tan on by lunch,” Faith smiles pointing to the time on her phone. 

“Yes mom, I’ll be home soon….” Shayna pouts hitting the button for the 9th floor as they enter the elevator. Seconds later the elevator chimes the 9th floor, doors opening. 

“Go get ‘em!” Faith laughs as she slaps Shayna’s ass as she walks out. Shayna laughs as she shakes her head walking into the hallway towards 9024. She makes it down the hall, stopping in front of the door, taking a deep breath as she knocks. 

Tristan opens the door still in his suit, tie loosely hanging from his neck, top button of his white shirt undone. He smiles as he opens the door wider holding his hand out for her suitcase. “Hey there,” he smiles putting her suitcase against the wall. 

Shayna barely waits for him to turn before she pushes him against the wall, hand curling around his tie to pull his face to hers. She kisses him hard, tongue automatically invading his mouth. His hands come around her grabbing her by the thighs as he picks her up turning to press her against the wall. 

“Why is your skirt so tight?” Tristan growls into her ear as he breaks the kiss, letting her slide down once he realizes she can’t move her legs. 

“It’s a pencil skirt, I don’t know. I just like them. They make my ass look good,” Shayna rolls her eyes pulling on his tie again as she undoes the knot. “God this suit… fuck.... it looks so good on you. It fits in all the right places.” She pulls the tie off his neck as she palms at his erection. 

“I take it you approve of it?” he breathes as his hips jut forward in to her hand following the rhythm of her hand.

“God yes,” she runs her hands down the lapels of the jacket. “It’s such a shame I’ll have to take if off you. I don’t want you to ruin it.” 

Tristan cups Shayna’s face, placing a kiss to her lips as he looks to her intricate bun on her head. “Now how hell do you suppose this comes apart?” he laughs tilting her head. 

Shayna sighs as she reaches up, “I totally forgot I put this in my hair.” She pulls out two pins from the bun, unrolling and pulling the sponge from her hair. “Don’t you look at me like that, it’s hair products…. It’s not important right now.” She throws it to her bag pulling him back to her. 

“I like your hair down for the record, so easily accessible,” he growls, his fingers tangling in her hair tightly pulling her hair earning him a whimper of pleasure from Shayna. Her eyes close as she bites her lower lip. “You like that…” 

“Mmmm,” Shayna whimpers. 

The door clicks as the automated lock unlocks. Gavin opens the door suddenly stopping as he almost runs into Tristan. 

“Oh, OH, sorry man,” Gavin steps back taking in the scene in front of him. 

Shayna ducks under Tristan’s arm “Oh uh, hey Gavs,” she blushes a deep shade of red. 

“Shayna, oh hi,” Gavin smiles turning to look at Tristan, his smile getting bigger as he looks at both of them. “Well then.” 

“We…. um, I was just leaving,” Shayna looks to her suitcase, reaching out to grab it. She bends down grabbing her hair accessory. She looks at the black tie on the floor next to their feet. Smiling she grabs it, stuffing both items into the front pocket of her suitcase. “I’ll text you.” she whispers to Tristan who turns to lean against the wall so she could walk by. “Gavin, goodnight.” She drags her suitcase down the small hall as Gavin opens the door for her. 

“Night!” Gavin chirps clearly amused. “Oh, oh this is good…” his voice carries from behind the door. 

Shayna walks down the hall to the elevator bank pressing the call button as she takes her phone from her sweater pocket. 

**Shayna (2:41am):** __1612\. I am taking you out of that suit if it kills me….. bring something to change into. :-*_ _

Shayna gets on to the elevator and presses the button for the 16th floor as she takes in her appearance in the polished metal door. Her hair is a tangled mess, fluffed out from where Tristan was pulling at it. She shakes her head laughing at herself as the elevator reaches her floor. Her phone chimes as she puts her keycard in the door. 

**Tristan (2:42pm):** _ ** _Right behind you….._** _

Shayna turns on the light as she walks into the small hallway of her room. She walks into the main area taking in how much bigger the room was compared to the boys room. She puts her suitcase next to the couch as she pulls off her heels dropping them next to her bag. She places her phone on the coffee table.

A soft knock comes from the door. Shayna walks over opening it to find Tristan on the other side, his carry on bag in his hand. She steps back so he can walk in.

“This is so much bigger…” he raises his eyebrows as he walks into the living area dropping his bag to the small armchair. “Must be nice getting a suite.”

“Yeah well, thanks Faith… ” Shayna shrugs as she locks the door. Turning she walks back to Tristan who is taking his dress shoes off, sliding them to the side of the chair.

“So, there was talk about taking me out of this suit….” he smirks crossing his arms as he leans back against the armchair.

“Mmm, there was,” Shayna walks over to him pulling at the lapels of his jacket. “I’m just letting you know now, I am tired, so….”

“We can work with that,” Tristan smirks pulling the jacket from her hands taking it off to place it on the chair.

Shayna reaches out to his collar undoing the buttons as she works down his shirt, pulling it out of his pants as she reaches the bottom. She reaches up and pushes the material off his shoulders as best as she can for her height compared to his tall frame. Walking around him, she pulls the shirt off his arms, dropping it to the chair.

He turns to face her, catching her to him, pressing a kiss to her lips. He takes her sweater over her shoulders pulling it down her arms tossing it aside to the couch. He undoes the silk scarf of her blouse, scoffing at the knot.

“Who wears a scarf like this?” He tries to unknot the soft material, failing horribly.

“I had to wear one thanks to the mark someone gave me last night….” Shayna swats at his hands, undoing the knot easily. She shifts her collar revealing the purple mark on her collarbone.

Tristan smiles as he runs his finger along the mark. “Well done too might I add.” He runs his fingers across the front to the buttons, undoing them down to the bottom. He pushes the silk down her shoulders letting it fall to the floor. He grabs her by the shoulders, turning her slowly taking her in inch by inch as he runs his finger down her spine to the zipper of skirt. He unzips it, fingers hooking into the material of her skirt and lace underwear pushing them down as he kisses between her shoulders letting the clothing pile at her feet.

Shayna shutters as he kisses across her shoulders, unhooking her bra. His hands come around her front to take the lace material from her, tossing that to the floor. He stands up behind her, his hands going straight to her breasts, softly kneading as he places kisses to her neck and behind her ear. She pushes her back to him, shifting her hip to come in contact with the bulge behind her. She reaches back palming him through his dress pants as he bites into her neck. She turns in his grip to face him, surprising him as she kisses him. She unhooks his belt followed by the button and zipper of his pants.

Breaking the kiss, Shayna pushes his boxers and pants down in one motion. His cock bobs up, fully erect and red. Shayna leans down licking at the head.

“Not now, you’re tired,” Tristan laughs. “As much as I’d enjoy that right now, it’s late.” He hooks her arm, stopping to pull a foil packet from his pants as he walks her to the couch. He sits her down and puts his hand out. “I saw you took my tie….” he looks to her suitcase.

“What?!” Shayna tries to look serious failing miserably. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she turns her head to look away. Tristan steps to her bag, reaching into the front pocket pulling out the black tie. “Oh come on, I was supposed to use it on you… I won’t win the bet otherwise.” Shayna puts her hand to her mouth.

“Bet?” Tristan smirks. “What would that be?”

“Faith said she’d give me $100 if I tie you up and take a picture…” Shayna coughs into her hand.

“Tie me up? Well… there’s always time for that, but since you stole my tie, I’m going to tie you up. Hands behind your back,” Tristan smiles as he wraps the material around his hand.

Shayna pouts “But…..”

“Nope, you first.”

“Fine….” Shanya gets up and kneels on the couch placing her hands behind her back as she tries to hide her smile. “I guess….”

“I see that smile,” Tristan whispers as he kneels down on the floor beside the couch in front of Shayna. “Just if it’s too tight, let me know.” He wraps the soft material around her wrists, pulling tightly as he knots it just above her hands, leaving a little bit of extra material out. “Up you go, to the back of the couch.” He pulls on the tie letting her lead him around to the back of the couch. “Lean forward over the couch. That’s a good girl,” Tristan reaches over to grab a pillow to put it under her stomach so the couch doesn’t dig into her. His fingers curl into the tie pulling on her hands.

Shayna leans forward letting her hands be pulled behind her. She turns her head to see him behind her smiling at the scene behind her. Tristan is fascinated with her hands as he runs his finger down her back, goosebumps spreading across her skin. He stops, taking the condom from the edge of the couch, ripping the packet open to place the latex down his swollen length.

“So beautiful…” he comments, continuing to trail his hand down her back to palm her ass. His hand disappears briefly, returning to slap her cheek.

Shayna whines. “Oh for the love of Jesus, not now. NOT NOW TRISTAN… I c-can’t, can’t handle that right now.”

“Well, this is interesting,” Tristan leans over her grabbing a handful of hair tilting her head to the side to face her. “If it wasn’t so late I would tie you to that bed in there… and well… there’s always a next time.” He kisses her hard, pulling on her hair. He reaches back between them, guiding himself in her. Shayna gasps, slightly sobbing at the sudden fullness.

Tristan straightens up, hand still tangled in her hair, as he thrusts into her starting a slow rhythm at first.

“Just fucking go…. harder…..” Shayna pushes back as she pushes with her hand at the cushions below her.

Tristan smiles, tilting his head to see her face below him, nods pulling her hair again a little harder before as he slams into her over and over. “Shay…. Shaynaaaa, I’m not going to last much longer…. like this….” He grabs at her shoulder for leverage. The sound of skin on skin echos in the room, mixed with the pants and whimpers of Shayna from the couch.

“Deni….. yes…. Deni… fuck…. fuck…. it’s fine….. just… oh-ohhh my god…” Shayna shakes, fists balling into the couch cushions below her as her orgasm hits. Tristan picks up his pace, thrusting harder as he comes hard as he falls forward, his tall frame engulfing Shayna. He lets go of her hair, petting it down as if to put it back in place. He slips out, running his hand down her back as he stands up walking to the bathroom.

Shayna sighs, hopping up slightly rolling over the back of the couch to curl up on the cushions, her hands still tied behind her. Tristan walks out of the bathroom over to the couch. He takes the pillow from next to her and places it under her hands just above her ass, causing Shayna to turn to look at him over her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Shayna asks looking at him.

“I’m sending the picture of you to Faith. I’m going to win this bet,” Tristan laughs grabbing her phone off the table in front of the couch. He holds it up looking at it . “Nah, I’m just going to selfie this one….” He turns the phone as he leans into the picture holding his hand up as if to present Shayna to the camera and block out her chest as he grins snapping the picture. He starts typing out a message.

**Shayna (3:01am):** _It’s Tristan. I win and I plan on collecting :-)_  
 **Shayna (3:01am):** _* picture of Shayna *_

Tristan puts the phone down on the table as he kneels down untying the tie from Shayna’s hands. He tosses it next to her on the couch. Shayna pulls her arms around shaking her hands out. Tristan scoops her up from the couch, walking to the bedroom, placing her on the king sized mattress. He walks out of the room shutting the lights as she crawls up to the pillows throwing the unneeded ones on the floor. Tristan slides in next to her, spooning to her back pulling her in close as he kisses her head.

“I can’t wait to tie you up to this bed tomorrow…” he whispers in her ear placing a kiss to her cheek.

“Yesssss,” Shayna yawns, closing her eyes as she snuggles into the pillow.

*****  
Faith stirs slightly, hearing the pounding on her door. She sits up in bed, clutching the sheets across her body when there is another hard knock on the door. Faith crawls out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and throwing her glasses on. She grabs the robe off the bathroom door, sliding it around her shoulders and makes her way to the door, opening it slowly.

“You’re even more beautiful in the morning” Hunter smiles, tucking a stray piece of hair gently behind her ear.

 

“Good morning to you too” Faith smiles back at him “What are you doing here? It’s early, shouldn’t you be sleeping?” she stepped back, allowing him access to her room, closing the door gently behind him.

“I couldn’t sleep” Hunter shrugged “I’ve had a lot on my mind recently, and it’s messing with my concentration.” He kicks his shoes to the corner of the room and plops himself down on her sofa. “I thought if you weren’t busy this morning…maybe we could have breakfast together?” He folds his hands behind his head, a thin line of skin showing between his t-shirt and his gym shorts.

Faith takes him in for a moment and smiles “I’d love that, Hunts.” She sits on the sofa next to him, facing in his direction, picking his hand up in her own. “I’m really glad you came up here…”

“Me too” he traces over her hand with his thumb. “The hotel has a great little bistro downstairs, it’s nice and quiet, and the food’s delicious.”

Faith nods, and then smiles really wide “I have a better idea” She turns and crawls on top of him to reach the table at the opposite side of the sofa, making sure to strategically position the opening to her robe giving him a perfect view down her tank top. She grabs the hotel phone, pushing one of the buttons on the display. “Good morning, Yes can I have one of everything on your menu please? And a bottle of Moet. Mmhmm, to the room. 1608. As fast as you can? Thank you!” She drops the phone back into the receiver and settles back in next to him. “Hope you’re okay with Breakfast in Bed?”

Hunter chuckles “I’m perfectly fine with anything ‘in bed’ as long as I’m with you.”

There is something about the way Hunter speaks that drives Faith absolutely crazy. Maybe it’s the glint in his eyes, or the thick accent that rolls of his tongue when he speaks, but whatever it is, it always makes her heart beat a little faster.

Hunter slides his arm tightly around her, pulling her on top of him. Faith sits back on his thighs, straddling his hips, resting her hands on his stomach gently. He reaches up, pushing the open material of her robe back, allowing it to fall from her shoulders. Snaking his arms around her, he pulls her down to him, their lips meeting quickly. Faith shifts her body, resting her full body weight on top of him, cupping his face in her hands. She flicks her tongue out over his lips, begging for entrance. Hunter swiftly opens his mouth allowing their tongues to dance. He slides his hands down her body, resting them on her ass giving a firm squeeze. Faith lets out a soft moan against his lips, pushing back into his hands. Hunter holds her in place, swiftly flipping them over to be in the dominant position. Grabbing each of her hands, he pins them down to her side. Breaking the kiss he stares down at her, taking in her disheveled form. Faith’s breath was ragged, her lips red and puffy from their intense lip lock with his own. Her brown hair is tossed haphazardly on the back of the couch cushion, her tank top riding up from her shorts, exposing her lower belly, while also exposing a deep line of cleavage complete with a reddish purple bite mark.

Hunter slowly released her wrists sitting down next to her, defeated.

“Hunts?” she breathes softly. “What’s wrong.”

A knock at the door pulls both of their attention away, and Hunter quickly gets up letting in the huge cart of breakfast foods.

“You need to sign this, Faith” Hunter calls to her, walking back into the room, sitting down again on the sofa

Faith pops up, signing the receipt and thanking the delivery man. She chuckles looking at the plethora of food before her, pushing the cart in from the doorway “Bedroom?” she points with a smile.

Hunter shrugs “Nah, this is fine.” he says simply.

Faith sighs, walking back over to the cart grabbing the champagne bottle, working at the cork before popping it. She locks eyes with him as she wraps her lips around the bottle top, taking a swig of the bubbly liquid. “I think you should reconsider.” She walks past him, Letting her hand caress his cheek on the way past. “When you do, I’ll be waiting.” Walking into the other room she sets the bottle of champagne on the nightstand, peeling off her robe, throwing it through the door frame back towards where Hunter was sitting.

Hunter chuckles softly seeing her robe come flying out of the room. Standing up from the sofa, he walks over to the silver cart, wheeling it into the other room. Faith was sprawling across the bed, propped up on her elbows. “I was hoping you’d change your mind…” she flashed him a sexy smile.

“You’re lucky you’re so damn cute” he shook his head with a smile, pulling lids off of the plates, setting things up for them.

Faith scoots over, making room for him. The two sit together enjoying their breakfast and talking about the rest of their time in California.

“Oh, I um..I hope you don’t have plans for today” Hunter smiled at her.

“Hm?” Faith cocks her head to the side.

“You know I always tell you that you work too much… So today, you’re not allowed to work. I made arrangements for you and Shayna to have some ‘girl time’ at the spa. Totally on me. Anything you want. I told them Facials, Massages and Nails. If I forgot anything, just add it on”

Faith drops her fork to her plate in disbelief “Hunter!” she shoved him “You’re crazy, you didn’t have to do that!”

He nods “I know Faith, but you’re very special to me...and I want to take care of you. I want you to feel pampered, taken care of...you know” he smiles “It makes me happy to be able to do that for you.”

Faith leans over and gives him a peck on the lips, smiling like an idiot “Why are you so good to me? I don’t deserve all of this…”

Hunter shrugs “...I don’t want to share you, Faith. I want to be able to give you everything you need. I haven’t done a good enough job at that in the past. So...whatever I have to do, I’m going to do it….I have to leave to go to practice, so I figured I’d let the spa take care of you this morning, and I can pick up where they leave off.”

Faith nods licking the syrup off of her fingers “I look forward to that Hunts.”

Hunter leans down giving her another kiss before standing from the bed “Almost as sweet as I’d imagined you tasted…”

“Are you trying to seduce me with your sweet talk?” Faith smirks.

“Maybe” he chuckles, “Is it working?”

“Yeah...it might be” she shook her head giving him a shove “GO, you don’t want to be late for practice. Coach is already pissed at you…”

Hunter nods pulling his shoes back on before heading for the door. “I’ll see you at Team Dinner tonight.”

Faith sighs softly after he leaves, reaching over for her cell phone. She sees Tristan’s text message and laughs loudly shaking her head. She punches in the auto dial code and calls Shayna.

“For the love of Jesus this better be good…” Shayna answers yawning into the phone.

“Shay, I just had to look at a picture of your naked, bound ass. I think maybe a simple ‘Good Morning, best friend!’ would have been a more appropriate greeting” Faith snickers at her.

“I saw that picture, he politely put a pillow over me. So calm yourself,” Shayna laughs. “Hello best friend, what can I offer you this….. oh shit it’s 11? God damn…”

“If Tristan is still there, he has 15 minutes to get to the bus for the rink for practice. I just had breakfast in bed with Hunter, and Shayna, he arranged for us to spend the day at the spa! Anything we want, completely on him. How thoughtful is he?” Faith gushes, her smile evident through the phone.

“No, he left a bit ago. And are you for real? Ooh, someone is stepping his game up. I like that I benefit from your relationships,” Shayna laughs. “I guess this means I should get up….”

Faith chuckles “Seriously, I will be at your room in 10 minutes. We, apparently, have Facials, Massages, and Mani/Pedis...but he said we can add whatever we want. Ughhhh I’m so excited for this! Girl Time!!” she grins.

“I’ll be dressed. I’ll see you in 10.” Shayna disconnects the call.

Faith throws on some light clothes, grabs her bag and walks down the hallway to Shayna’s room.

Shayna opens the door, sunglasses on her face grinning at Faith. “Don’t even ask. Well maybe ask, but… yanno…”

Faith chuckles “Deni tied you up, I dont need to ask, I already have the tinglies thinking about that” she smirks “God what I wouldn’t give to be tied up by Ollie and Hunts...mmm” she drools.

“You owe Deni $100. Or at least he thinks that….” Shayna shakes her head pressing the elevator call button.

“I’m not giving Deni a dime, I didn’t want to see YOU naked, I wanted to see HIM naked!” Faith giggles “I mean...in a strictly platonic, best-friends-boyfriend kinda way…”

“I’m going to get him, don’t you worry about that. I was side tracked by the suit. I don’t know if I’m going to make it through this…. He smacked my ass last night… this morning. I almost lost it. He’s excited,” Shayna bites her lip. “I’m so fucked…. figuratively and literally.”

“How do you think I feel? I’m supposed to date these two amazing men and then choose? Can’t I just have them both? Or even better, can I just have them TOGETHER?... Oh god, imagine…” Faith leans back against the wall for stability “I would straight up die…” She steps off the elevator on the Spa level “ho…..lyshit”

“This… this is out of control Faith.” Shayna gapes taking in the reception area of the spa. Gray marble floors run wall to wall, a crystal chandelier takes up the center of the room casting a warm glow of the grey walls, a large waterfall sits behind the desk.

A girl in white scrubs stands up from her chair at the desk to welcome them. “Do you ladies have a reservation?” she smiles warmly.

“I assume it’s under you Faith?” Shayna takes her sunglasses off looking to Faith.

“I’m not sure if its under my name, McCallium, or under Milda?”

“Ah, yes, two under Milda,” The girl types at the computer. “Ok, so we’ll have the both of you follow us to the back, we’ll get you settled. Mr. Milda said to take exceptional care of you, so if there is anything you need, please feel free to ask. We have you down for Massages first. Does that sound ok?”

“That’s perfect….thank you.” Faith smiles “Are we going to be together? Or…”

“Anything you’d like Mrs. Milda”

Shayna cracks up laughing, snorting at the name.

Faith shoots her a look, and smiles at the receptionist. “We’ll go together, thank you.”

The receptionist nods, walking around the desk to a set of glass doors. She opens the door holding her hand out.

“After you Mrs. Milda…” Shayna smirks.

Faith laughs heading towards the back “That kinda has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” She bites her lip “Did I just say that?”

“And you say I’m falling hard…” Shayna shakes her head as they walk down the hall to the massage room.

“I didn’t say I was going to marry him or anything...but you know. He would be an amazing husband” Faith sighs “Don’t look at my ass while I change for this…” she smirks.

“I have eyes for one ass, thank you very much… and it’s really nice,” Shayna giggles putting her bag on the floor, taking off her tee.

Faith chuckles stripping down and sliding under the blankets on her table. “I have eyes for two asses...and they’re both perfect....”  
The two therapists walk into the room, adjusting the lighting and turning on soft instrumental music. “Remind me to thank Hunts again later…” Faith sighs with a smile, closing her eyes.


	8. You know you look so Seattle but you feel so LA....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the F*cking California Road Trip! (still!)  
> Things are getting SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING.....  
> Tristan and Shayna are just getting hot.  
> Hunter spoils the girls hoping to score points with Faith. Is it going to work?! What the hell is Oliver going to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same thanks as always. This was an interesting chapter to write.... we had a lot of fun. Very emotional.... 
> 
> Chapter title is from Irresistible by Fall Out Boy.

**Chapter 8**

Shayna knocks on Faith’s door adjusting her shoe, waiting for her to answer.

“Well then,” Faith opens the door.

“This god damn mini skirt.” Shayna walks in past Faith pulling at the hem of her black skirt. “Honestly, I don’t even know if I can sit in this, but look at my boobs in this black button down…. FABULOUS.”

Faith chuckles fastening the button of her jacket above her red pencil skirt “Is this too tight?” she tugs at the skirt a little bit, turning to observe the back “I feel like my ass looks like a table!”

“Nope. But damn, your legs…. I hope you have a stick to beat the boys off with.” Shayna grins, adjusting her silver necklace. “Also let me point out… these,” she points at her black sparkly and spiked Louboutins “Are the absolute most I have ever paid for a pair of shoes, but ugh have you ever seen a prettier pair? I’m going to die walking in these….”

Faith smirks, bending down taking off one of her leopard print Jimmy Choo stilettos “excuse me, these were almost $700… I feel your pain!” She slips the shoe back on and looks herself over in the mirror. The print of her blouse matching her shoes to near perfection. Her brown hair a voluminous mane of curls, and some simple silver bangles jingle every time she moves her arm. “How do I look?” she posed, popping out her hip.

“I’d sleep with you if that counts for anything…” Shayna grins, flipping her dark reddish brown straight hair back sliding next to Faith in the mirror.

“SELFIE!” Faith whips out her phone, snapping a quick picture of the two. “Keep it to ourselves, or send it to the boys?” She raises an eyebrow at Shayna.

“Keep it. I can’t wait to see their faces. I hope Tristan breaks something, “ Shayna grins wide.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to mount you right there at the table” Faith giggles grabbing her bag “Come on, we can’t leave the boys in suspense much longer.”

The girls walk out of the room to the elevator catching it in time. A few seconds later the doors open to the hotel lobby. They walk across, heels clicking on the marble floor as they approach the bar area of the restaurant where the team has assembled.

Kopecky looks up from his seat at a table, his jaw dropping open slightly “Logan...” he smacks his shoulder, nodding towards the girls.

Logan looks up, eyes widening “Uh...Gavs....” he points.

Gavin’s grin spreads across his face “Whoa…Deni!” he hollars down the bar “Your woman is STELLAR.”

The whole group abruptly stops to turn and look between Tristan and the girls. “Your woman? Shayna? Or Faith?” London muses “But wait...since when?! What did we miss Deni?”

“Yeah Deni, what gives!” a voice chimes in from down the bar.

“Ow owwwwwww” another whistles.

Tristan looks up from his spot at the bar, his glass slipping out of his hand, spilling on the counter as he takes in Shayna standing with Faith.

“Ladies,” Hunter gets up from his seat holding his hands out to the girls. “I see the spa has been good to you today.”

“Thank you so much for that Hunts, I feel so spoiled,” Shayna hugs Hunter, Tristan glaring from his seat. “I feel like a brand new girl….” she laughs as he spins her.

Hunter lets go of Shayna’s hand turning to Faith, a grin spread across his face. “Faith, absolutely breathtaking as always.” He holds his hands out to her. She leans into him kissing his cheek as he slides his hand along her lower back. “Needs drinks?”

Shayna looks to Tristan, her eyes asking him to step in. He smirks standing from the table, buttoning his suit jacket. “Shayna,” he his voice is deep, husky, tinged with amusement. “Can I… get you a drink.”

“Ohhhhh it’s Shayna…” London sings from the table. Tristan looks over to him with a serious look. “Oh give it up Deni. Claim her… do the poor girl a favor.” He shakes his head.

“If you don’t, I certainly will….” Kopecky laughs from his seat.

“You’re married…” Pesek laughs from next to him, slapping him on the back.

Shanya giggles looking at Tristan, a blush rising in his cheeks.

“Honestly, I bring one new girl in the mix and all of a sudden it’s like a pissing contest in here,” Faith laughs rolling her eyes at the crowd.

“We all know you’re spoken for Faithy,” Logan laughs. “Hunter would punch anyone if they thought otherwise.” Luca slaps the table in front of Logan and shakes his head at him. “Oh, oh… my bad.”

Faith shifts uncomfortably next to Hunter, his arm tightening around her as he looks down to her with sad eyes. She shakes her head catching a glimpse of Oliver on the far end of the bar his face down in his phone not paying any attention to the table, anger clearly on his face.

“So, that drink,” Shayna reaches out to touch Tristan’s arm, noding to Faith to catch her attention asking if she’s ok. Faith nods.

Tristan slides his arm to her lower back, possively. Whistles sound from behind him from the table. He rubs his face with his free hand looking down to Shayna who is smirking up at him. “You are so uncomfortable right now, it’s adorable. Vodka, Stoli if you have, shot of cranberry, pineapple and a touch of Sprite, toss an orange in there and please if you could, large pint glass if you have.” She smiles at the bartender who just nods to her grabbing for bottles.  “What?” she looks at Tristan.

“Picky aren’t we?” he muses. He reaches into his jacket pocket grabbing out his phone flicking the screen to unlock it. He types out a message, sends it and locks his screen smirking as he puts it back in his jacket. Shayna’s phone chimes in her small clutch. She raises an eyebrow at him as he pays for her drink as she takes the phone out.

**Tristan (7:13pm):** _You have no idea what I am going to do to you later……_

Shayna shivers locking her phone putting it back in her bag looking at Tristan who remains neutral.

“Alright, the room is open!” JP appears with Coach St. Claire next to him, waving on the team to follow him to the room behind him. Chairs scrape the floor as the guys get up from the table, glasses being picked up or put down as they walk into the large room. Shayna and Faith walk to the head of the table to sit near the staff. Hunter sits across from Faith, Tristan next to Shayna. JP sits next to Faith with Michael at the head of the table. JP looks to Hunter and then to Faith, shaking his head, nodding for Hunter to move. Hunter grimaces receiving another nod. Tristan looks to Shayna as she shrugs. He gets up and moves as well as not to cause trouble. Trainers fill the seats quickly.

Shayna puts her hand on Faith’s leg. Faith nods patting Shayna’s hand in silent ok.

Faith’s phone chimes in her purse. She reaches out grabbing it quickly looking at the screen on her lap.

**Oliver (7:24pm):** _You look beyond incredible. Dessert after dinner?_

 **Faith (7:25pm):**   _ **Mmm I think I could handle that... what did you have in mind?**_

 **Oliver (7:25pm):** _I want to eat something sweet ;)_

 **Faith (7:26pm):**   _ **Ohh that kind of dessert ;) I hear room 1609 has a pretty good buffet. All you can eat.**_

 **Oliver (7:27pm):** _Free entry?_

**Faith (7:27pm): _For you? Always. :-*_**

**Oliver (7:29pm):** _I can’t wait to clean my plate..._

 

Faith bites her lip and puts her phone face down on the table taking a breath. She glances quickly to her left, catching Oliver’s eyes staring at her, chuckling to himself. She shakes her head, looking back to her plate.

Shayna raises an eyebrow, “Are you breathing? Are you having a reaction? Your face is redder than a tomato…” Faith slides her phone across the table for her to read. Shayna quickly unlocks the phone scrolling through the last couple of messages “Oh god damn…” she looks to Faith, who is still staring at her plate, with a chuckle “You’re SO gonna get it later…”

Faith nods in agreement “I can’t… if I even so much as look at him again I’m gonna take him right here on this table…”

Shayna chuckles “You just need another drink...do you still want to go to the little bar next door after we eat while the boys have their meeting? Unwind a little bit…”

“Yeah for sure, it's early still…” Faith smiles, lifting her eyes slowly from the table.

******

The team has moved to a smaller room to go over some points for tomorrow’s game. Shayna and Faith take a walk to the bar next door to the hotel.

“So...do you and Tristan have any plans for later tonight?” Faith swirls her straw in the glass.

“Nothing set in stone, but I got a lovely text that said ‘You have no idea what I’m going to do to you…’ so I’m going to go ahead and say yeah something…” Shayna grins taking a sip of her drink.

“I’m so glad that our rooms don’t share a wall…” Faith chuckles “I don’t need to hear you two all night… is he loud? Deni seems like he’d be a talker...” she wiggles her eyebrow “he is, isn't he?”

“I don’t want to hear you either…” Shayna rolls her eyes. “But let’s be real, there’s a game tomorrow. Ha, talker. No…. well he knows what he wants. I’ll put it that way.” Shayna blushes.

“Nothing wrong with that! I like a man who can take charge, and go after what he wants…” Faith sets her glass down on the counter “I need to not drink any more of those if I'm going to function tomorrow...holy hell that was strong.”

“Function? I’m getting a shot… are you in? Come on… a little Patron?” Shayna waves to the bartender. “What do you say?”

Faith rubs her head, tucking a few curls behind her ear “You know I can’t resist Patron….but ONE, Shayna. Tomorrow is a work day…” she warns, giving her a look.

Shayna pouts, “Yes mom. One… two…. That’s fine. Patron please for us both, thanks.”

Faith grabs a salt shaker giving Shayna a look “We’re doing these ourselves right? I don’t really want to lick you…” she smirks “Wouldn’t want Deni riding my ass about stealing his girl…”

“What is this spring break? Honestly….” Shayna shakes her head taking the salt shaker. “If I’m licking anyone it’s Tristan and I don’t…. oh there they are. Better get on this before they get over here…”

Faith nods lifting her glass “Love you, Shay” she smiles “Thanks for being the best assistant ever” she smirks “aka, not doing a damn thing”.

“Cheers to that!” Shayna laughs clinking the glasses.

Faith licks the line of salt off of her hand before throwing back her shot with ease. She pops a lime wedge in her mouth for a couple of seconds before spitting it back into her shot glass. “God I just love this shit” she shakes a head a little, the burn of the Tequila rushing through her.

Shayna spits the lime in her glass smiling, “Forgot what that was like…” she coughs looking up to see the boys walking to them.

“I see we’ve already missed some fun, “ Gavin pouts. “I like shots…. how dare you guys!” He looks sad but smirks.

“It’s only been one, we were just going to get another…” Shayna grins turning to Faith. “Right Faith?”

Faith sighs, giving her a look “Shay… I have so much to do tomorro-”

“This rounds on me” Oliver leans in between the girls to drops his credit card on the bar “lets have some fun tonight” he breathes in Faith’s ear with a smirk.

“Gee thanks, Oliver” Gavin smirks waving to the bartender “We need….” he looks around them, silently counting “A bottle.”

Shayna high fives Gavin, “LINE THEM UP!” she grins.

“I’m going to have to carry you out of here aren’t I,” Tristan slides in behind Shayna’s chair, his hand sliding along her lower back.

“Only if you ask nicely Deni,” Logan chimes in from behind Gavin. “This is going to be interesting.”

Gavin looks between Faith and Shayna “So...who do I get to lick first?” he holds up the salt shaker giving it a little shake, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

Tristan wraps his arm around Shayna’s shoulders pulling her back to him, “No.”

Faith gives Gavin a pout “I already have two people fighting for my attention, throwing in a third one may literally spark a nuclear war…” she smiles “Sorry hun.”

Gavin chuckles setting up his hand “You can’t blame a man for trying…”

Oliver, Faith, Shayna, Tristan, Gavin, and Logan all raise their glasses in unison, salt resting on their hands, limes pinched between their fingers.

“To the Scarlet!” Logan toasts.

“To the Scarlet!“ everyone repeated in unison, throwing back their shots.

“Jesus!” Logan shook his head, exhaling sharply “What is this, Gasoline?”

“Logan…. it’s Patron. That’s top shelf… really.” Gavin scoffs spitting out his lime.

“Someone forgets that he’s younger than others, this isn’t college.” Logan shakes his head at him.

Oliver grabs the bottle, setting up another round “You guys wanna go again?” he smiles, looking down the line at everyone for the go-ahead.

Shayna giggles looking back at Tristan “Only if I can lick salt off you…” she grins, catching Faith’s face beside her. “Don’t look at me like that Faith…. “

Tristan looks at Oliver as he shakes the bottle shrugging.

“DO IT!” Gavin yells out. “I’m in… set it up Ollie.”

Oliver sets up another round of shots for everyone, dispersing them to everyone.

“Cheers!” Faith grins, clinking their glasses together.

  
“CHEERS!” Everyone echos, downing their shots.

Faith shakes her head, setting her glass down on the bar “I shouldn’t have had that drink earlier” she blinks a few times “I guess I’ll be walking back barefoot” she grins looking to Shayna “Shay...how you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine,” she grins with squinty eyes. “Probably should hold out on the next one yet…. I SAID YET GAVIN... “ Gavin holds his hands up. “Ok, fine. ONE MORE. These shoes are going to come off soon.”

Oliver pours the line again looking up to everyone.

Shayna sets up her shot, seeing Hunter walk up behind Logan. “Hunter! Hunter! Come here, shots!” she looks behind Logan waving her hand for him to come closer. “Ollie, pour one more.”  

Faith grins “HI HUNTSSSSS” her s slightly longer than necessary. “Patron?” she offers him a shot glass.

“Sure,” Hunter holds his hand out raising an eyebrow to Faith’s condition.

Oliver glares between Faith and Hunter. He watches as Hunter’s fingers linger as he accepts the small glass from Faith.

“This one,” Oliver speaks up “This one should be for our girls. Our beautiful girls Faith and Shayna, for all they do for us.”

“Both on AND off the ice” Tristan smirks, resting his free hand on Shayna’s thigh.

Faith blushes, although her cheeks were already flushed a bright pink from the Tequila. “Thanks, Olls” she smiles at him.

He takes her hand, as if to kiss it, running his tongue along the line of salt she poured, his eyes never leaving hers. He downs his shot, slamming the glass on the bar before bringing her hand back to his mouth, sucking on her lime wedge.

Tristan raises an eyebrow, looking at Shayna.

Gavin gently places his glass on the bar, “well… that escalated quickly…”

“So maybe this is where we head back to the hotel,” Logan puts his hand on Gavin’s shoulder.

Tristan nods looking down at Shayna, “Want to go for a walk?”

Shayna looks to Faith. “You want to walk back with us?”

“I can take her from here, “ Hunter holds his hand out. “Someone looks like she’s going to be unstable in those shoes after all that liquor.” He grimaces side glancing at Oliver.

“Oh Hunter, come onnnn. It’s still early” Faith grins “I don’t want to leave yet!”

“I’m sure you have a lot to do tomorrow Faith. I think you’ve had enough,” Hunter grabs her shoulder nodding towards the door. “Come on, let me tuck you in.”

“She said no” Oliver grabbed his hand, throwing it off of her shoulder. “Leave her alone.”

“I see you didn’t learn your lesson last time, hmm Moreno?” Hunter sneers, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

Faith looks between the two of them “Guys…”

Oliver steps to the side, gently placing Faith behind him, “You wanna fight, Hunter? Lets go.” he pushes up his sleeves.

Faith frowns “Guys!”

Tristan looks to Gavin and Logan as he slides the chair holding Shayna back from the bar away from the two men in front of her.

“This is not the place for this,” Tristan speaks up louder from behind Hunter.

“Fight, are you serious?” Hunter scoffs. “I’ll give you a matching eye…”

Faith steps in between them, “Can you two just stop?”

Oliver glares at Hunter, “You think you’re hot shit, but you’re nothing Hunter. You want to give me another black eye? Go ahead. What does that prove? NOTHING. So go ahead” he got up in Hunters face “Go ahead, Hunter, you wanna be a tough guy. Do it.”

“BOTH OF YOU. STOP IT! JUST STOP!” Faith yells, the tears spilling over her eyes. “I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE. YOU TWO ARE BEING RIDICULOUS!”

“I think that’s enough…” Logan holds his arm between the two. “Not here.”

“Someone’s acting childish right now,” Hunter tilts his head to the side glaring down at Oliver. “Absolutely pathetic….”

“Pathetic?” Oliver chuckles “You call me pathetic because I’m not going to back down to you? Because you think you can bully me out of wanting to be with Faith? Not in a million years, Hunter. I’d fight you every day for her…”

“Yeah, and you’ll lose every day” Hunter smirks, pushing him out of his space “Get out of my face, Moreno.”

“Don’t you fucking touch me” Oliver shoves him back.

Faith tries to wedge herself between them again, only to get knocked aside into a bar stool wincing. “FINE, IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT. FINE. YOU CAN HAVE EACH OTHER” She pushes her way through the both of them angrily shoving them both on the way past, “FUCK YOU BOTH.”

Everyone stops, watching Faith storm out of the bar, tears streaming down her face. Shayna goes to get up, but Tristan puts a hand on her shoulder “She’ll be okay…” Tristan nods quickly to Gavin and Logan. “Go follow Faith. Leave her alone, but make sure she gets back ok, she’s pretty loaded.” He steps between Hunter and Oliver, shoving them both back towards the bar forcefully. Tristan’s large frame standing his own against the other two.  “As for you two, what the hell are you doing? Did either of you notice that you just shoved the girl you are fighting over into a bar stool? Or that she ran out of here crying? Huh?” He yelled slamming his hand down hard on the bar top, causing the people around them to stop and stare, his French accent more predominant as he get louder. “You two are fighting always. Are you her boyfriend?” Tristan glared at Hunter, his blue eyes cold and angry. “NO. How about you?” he shifts his gaze to Oliver. “NO. Neither of you are entitled to her. She can choose to see either, or both of you and that is up to HER. But you’re hurting her... she is CRYING. BECAUSE. OF. YOU!” he continued to yell, muttering in French at the end.

Both Hunter and Oliver stood quietly, listening to Tristan rip into them.

“You don’t get to hear how much she loves being with both of you” Shayna pipes up, sliding off the barstool, nudging Tristan to the side. “You have no idea how hard this is on her. How much she cares about you both. This is killing her inside having to deal with you two. Then you go and pull this bullshit again?”

“Do you even think about how Faith feels when you two fight all the time? Seeing two people she cares about always fighting? Knowing its because of her? I don’t see as much as Shayna, but it’s not easy for her. You should both be ashamed of yourselves for hurting her.”

“You never once stopped to think about what Faith needs in all of this. You’re SO selfish. Both of you. When you love someone, or care about someone, it’s not always about YOU. She NEEDS both of you to accept that NEITHER of you are the only important person in her life. Hell, she loved you which I didn’t even know about...” Shayna motions to Oliver “Then you left, and she started falling for you” she waves her hand at Hunter “and now shes all over the place. She needs to figure things out for herself. So, if you can’t handle DATING her, then give up now” Shayna steps in front of the two them, “and don’t you EVER pull this shit again, because I may be a girl, but I will beat the ever loving shit out of you both.” She glares at them, pulling her shoes off, pointing a spiked heel at each of them  “And that’s not a threat, its a promise, and don’t think I won’t either.…. Let’s go, Tristan”.

*****

Logan sits quietly on one of the lounge chairs by the pool, silently cursing the inventor of text messaging.  His cell phone was vibrating non-stop with messages from everyone asking Faith’s status. Shayna and Tristan were looking to see if she was ok, Hunter and Oliver both trying to figure out where she went. Gavin had already gone up to Faith’s room to do damage control there if anyone were to show up looking for her. Being one of the veteran players on the Scarlet, Logan and Faith have known each other for years. They were never really the closest of friends, but he thought highly of her, and certainly didn’t want to see any harm come her way.

Faith has been sitting on the ledge of the hotel pool since storming out of the bar. She knows going back to her room would guarantee that someone would soon be there to find her. She needed to be away from everyone. She didn’t want to talk, or be apologized to. Her cellphone continues to buzz in her purse, undoubtedly messages from Oliver and Hunter. “STOP. CALLING. ME.” Faith growls jumping up, reaching in her bag and grabbing the small phone, hurling it as far and as hard as she could, letting out a loud, frustrated yell in the process. Logan whips his head up watching the scene unfold in front of him. The thin silver case and its contents shattering to pieces as the phone smashes into the ground. Faith hangs her head, and sits back down in her previous spot at the pools ledge, her eyes fixated on the water. He was unsure if she was still crying, but his instinct told him yes.

**Logan (11:24pm)** :   _ **I’m not cut out for this. Help?**_

 **Tristan (11:26pm)** : _What’s going on? Where are you?_

 **Logan (11:26pm):** _**Pool… She’s still crying. Just smashed her phone. Girls are scary when they’re upset. Part of me wants to talk to her, but I’m literally scared to death she would drown me.**_

 **Tristan (11:28pm):** _Shayna said to leave her, she’s on her way._

Fifteen minutes later Shayna pats Logan on the shoulder, “I’ll take it from here Lo. Go make sure Gavin didn’t go back to the bar. I’m sure Tristan doesn’t want to clean his sloppy ass up in the room later.”

Shayna walks over to where Faith is sitting and plops down next to her, dipping her feet into the pool. “Hi.”

“Not now, Shay” Faith speaks softly “Just leave me alone, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“No one said anything about talking, but I promised you on the flight out here that I’d be here for you when you needed me… and even if you don’t want to admit it. You need me.” She wraps her arms around her shoulders. “You’ve been my best friend for the last like...10 years. Shit, we’re old as hell now. Don’t tell Tristan… I mean...” she shook her head “Anyway, you’ve been my best friend for almost 10 years, I love you. When you’re upset, I’m upset. So I don’t care if we sit here in silence until we board the plane to go home, we’re gonna do it together.”

They sit there in silence. Shanya occasionally looking over at Faith who is still staring at the water. Shayna starts wiggling her feet around causing a little wake, eventually she starts kicking her feet earning a glare from Faith. “What? Maybe I wanna get my mermaid on.” She shrugs kicking her feet together. Faith shakes her head at her turning her face away. “Oh stop, I’m trying. I know you don’t want to talk but you know me…. I can’t stand silence. Just so you know, and I know you really don’t… I threatened the life out of both of them. I used my shoes. All 5’6” of me waving my shoes around making threats. Tris--- erh… yeah. It was funny.”

Faith can’t help but stifle a small laugh “I knew those shoes were a good investment..”

“That’s why I got the spiked pair,” she grins kicking her feet again. “If I have to bury someone in the sand on the beach over there, just let me know. I need better shoes than flip flops.”

“I’ll bring you a shovel…” Faith frowns.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but we are going to have to address this whole situation. I know… I know I get it.  Tristan totally laid it into them when you left. So did I. I swear if they so much as flinch in your general area Tristan is going to beat someone. I might let him… maybe. But he stood up for you, I’m quite proud.”

“I can’t keep doing this with them… They can’t keep fighting like this” Faith wiped the back of her hand across her face. “If it’s gonna be between them fighting, and me choosing… then I can’t see either of them…”

“I hope they get their heads out of their asses and do some soul searching. Either one of them should be grateful to have you. If they behave like that neither one deserves you. “

“What do I do?” Faith turns back to Shayna pleading with her.

“You’re going to have to lay it out for them. I can’t tell you who to pick. You have to talk to them.”

“At this point, I don’t even know what to say...I’m so MAD at them! They’re being so selfish…I don’t know how to get through to them” Faith huffs

****  


“You don’t have to do it now. Wait until we get home. Take some time for yourself. Think about it a little and we can deal with it when we get back. No one will go near you, I’ll just start waving my shoe around. Tristan, Gavin and Logan will back us up. If I have to talk to someone, I will. ‘What are your intentions with my best friend….’ A nice sit down.”

Faith shakes her head “I think this is something I need to figure out…but I appreciate it…” she half smiles.

“Good. So, now… you wanna go upstairs, put on some PJs, order some candy and watch a movie like a slumber party like when we were in college?” Shayna smiles.

Faith chuckles “No, I’M going to go upstairs, sit in my tub for an hour, and cry myself to sleep. YOU are going to go and salvage whats left of tonight with Deni… I’m sorry I ruined your bondage party” she sticks out her bottom lip.

“Ha, bondage party. He gets it. He sent me down here. Well I wanted to go after you but he wanted to give you space. He’s really something….” Shayna blushes. “He wouldn’t mind. I’d rather be there for you if you need me. I have all the time in the world to tie Tristan to my bedposts at home.”

“Nah, I want you to go. You’ve got a good one with that Deniau… tell him I said thank you….and I still want that picture” Faith chuckles standing up from the pool “My feet are pruney..”

Shanya stops kicking her feet to hold them up and look. “Same. Let’s walk up together. I want to make sure Gavin isn’t sleeping outside your door. He was doing damage control.”

Faith nods “God everyone got dragged into this shit…God help me if JP catches wind of this.”

“I’ll take care of that. I’ll keep an ear out. Logan and Gavin won’t say anything. Tristan will talk to them. Don’t worry about it.”

Faith nods “Thank you…” she links their arms, turning back towards the hotel. “I can’t say thank you enough…”

“That’s what friends are for….” Shayna nudges Faith smiling. “Do you honestly think I would let you face this by yourself? NO.”

Faith leans into her as they enter the elevator “Love you Shay”

“Love you too Faithy. Let’s get you to the tub! God that sounds dirty…”

Faith chuckles “It’s sadly not as exciting as it sounds..”

Faith and Shayna step off the elevator, shoes in hand. As they made their way down the hallway, Shayna noticed a figure on the floor propped up against Faith’s door.

“Don’t tell me Gavin passed out. We are never taking him drinking again….” Shayna unlinks her arm from Faith walking ahead to wake up the sleeping form. “Gav…. Oh…. Ohhhhh.”

Oliver stirs sitting up from his spot on the floor looking up at the girls with sad eyes.

“Ohhhh no you don’t.” Shayna slips off and holds up her flip flop in front of Oliver’s face. “I swear to god Oliver… this is not the time and place for this. Leave her alone right now or so help me I will flip flop the shit out of you….”

Oliver raises an eyebrow at Shayna as he stands up from the floor, suit jacket in hand. “You’re not spanish Shanya, that’s not going to scare me,” he chuckles to himself.

“I don’t even care….”

“Shayna…” Faith sighs softly “it’s ok…”

“Fine. There better not be any problems.You call me if I need to throw him out of the room…. I’ll bring the spiked shoes to kick your ass with….” Shayna smiles at Oliver turning back to head down the hallway.

“Bye Shay…” Faith slides her keycard in the door, pushing it open, staring at Oliver “Not in the hallway.”

“I just wanted to talk Faith… whatever you’ll hear from me. I just wanted to…. I just… I’m sorry,” Oliver walks into the room, rubbing his eyes.

Faith closed the door and props her hands on her hips, “Okay..so….you’re sorry” she shrugs “Thanks.”

“You know I let my emotions get the best of me. I can’t let Hunter walk all over me all the time. Not when it comes to you, Faith.”

Faith nods “Well incase you missed it, I’m not thrilled with him either. But did you ever think about walking away from him? You have a temper. He has a temper. I get it, but for fucks sake, I have FEELINGS too you know.”

“I’m not walking away from anyone and I’m not walking away from you…. again. I’m here to fight for you this time. I told you that.”

“I can’t handle any more fighting...You and Hunter. You’re teammates. You can’t keep fighting over me. You can’t, Oliver.” Faith sighs tossing her shoes to the corner. “I’m done fighting. This is your career, his career, my career… It can’t happen.

Oliver tosses his jacket to the floor next to her shoes. “I’ll admit it, I really fucked up.” He lets out a shaky sigh, slowly pacing across the room. “Faith, when I went to Dallas, I left you with no explanation. I took everything we had for granted. I was a dumb kid, and I know thats no excuse. But, I walked away from the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Faith crosses her arms, turning away from him “Please...don’t do this…”

“…I know I let you down. I didn’t stand up for you, or for us…and yes, there was an us… I can’t do that again. I WON’T do that again.” Oliver makes his way back closer to her, his red eyes meeting hers “When I saw you that day...when you walked into the conference room.... it scared me” he exhales, “Faith, all those memories, the feelings, they all came back...”

 

Faith presses her eyes closed, shaking her head “Ollie pleas-“

 

“Let me finish…” he abruptly cuts her off. “I will fight for this. I will fight for US… I love you.” Faiths eyes fly open, unsure that she was hearing him correctly “Faith, I LOVE you”. Oliver takes a slow step towards her. “I’m so in love with you it scares me…” He scans her face for any sort of reaction, unable to read the blank expression on her face. “And Hunter. What does he know, Faithy? Does he know that you peel your bananas upside down? Does he know that you and Shayna have matching Spongebob onesies that you have to wear on New Years Eve or it’s a year of bad luck? Does he know that this scar on your arm was from when you were 5 and you fell out of your treehouse.” He gently reaches out running a single finger over the scar on her elbow “Does he know that you cry at the SPCA commercials on the TV?” His voice down to nearly a whisper “Does he know about that spot on the back of your left leg that sends shivers up your spine?...Does he know how you like to be touched?...or kissed?… Does he know how to please you? Or what makes you beg?” He raises his hand to the side of her face “He knows nothing Faith.”

Faith closes her eyes once more, a few stray tears spilling down the tips of her eyelashes as she presses her cheek against Oliver’s palm. He loves her.  After all of these years, all of this time.... he loves her. Every word that escapes his lips is speaking directly to her heart. Oliver outstretches his thumb, gently wiping her cheek. Slowly opening her eyes, she met Oliver’s brown gaze, intently studying her face.  His lips pursed into a small smile, “Even while crying, still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen…”

Faith goes to speak, but her breath catches in her throat. Oliver Moreno has rendered her speechless. Her heart was beating so fast she was afraid it may burst. Without a second thought Faith brings her face up to his, pressing her lips against his own. What starts out as a soft and tender bond quickly grows into a passionate dance of their tongues. Faith kisses him with such intensity that she nearly loses her footing. Oliver slides an arm around her waist holding her body close while sliding his other hand from her cheek into her hair, tangling his fingers in her perfectly curled locks. His kiss burns through her, his mouth hot and hungry. Faith’s head spins as she pulls back, gasping for air. Her lips pink and puffy, her chest heaving and her bright blue eyes clouded over. Neither of them needed to say anything. She extends her hand, interlocking her fingers with his, walking from the entryway back towards the bedroom.

Once through the threshold, Oliver tugs her close to him, dropping his mouth down to her jaw line, gently placing a series of kisses, licks and nips on the exposed skin. Faith breathes a soft moan in response, her hand resting lightly on the back of his neck. Reaching up her body, he slides his fingers over the buttons of her blouse, gently unhooking each one has he goes. He slips his hands under the soft material, pushing it down off her shoulders. Oliver brings his hands back up, cupping her breasts through her bra, molding the soft flesh with his fingers. Faith tosses her shirt quickly to the corner of the room. She tugs firmly at his button down, untucking it from his pants. Swiftly unhooking the top few buttons, she yanks the shirt up over his head discarding it along with the other clothes already in the corner. Oliver gathers her in his arms, their warm bodies colliding as he brings their lips together once more. His hand slides down her body to her skirt, quickly finding the eyehook and zipper in the back. He hastily removes the red material, his hands grabbing at her newly exposed ass eliciting a throaty moan from Faith.

Faith allows her hands to come between them unhooking Olivers belt, sliding it out loop by loop. She runs her hand over his growing erection giving him a firm squeeze. Oliver groans against her mouth, pressing his hips hard into her hand, giving her ass a firm squeeze. Faith unbuttons his dress pants, making sure to press against his throbbing cock while sliding the zipper down. She shoves his pants and boxers down in one swift motion, dropping to her knees in front of him. Faith licks her palm before stroking him hastily, taking his swollen head between her lips. Oliver’s hands instantly tangle in her hair. “Fuck, Faith” escaping his lips with bated breath. She drops her jaw, taking him deep in her mouth over and over. After a few moments, Oliver tugs at her hair, pulling her head back away from his glistening cock. Not tonight. Tonight, he wanted to please her. Faith dragged her teeth gently up his length before releasing him from her warm mouth sending chills through Oliver’s body. Returning to her feet Oliver cups her face, dipping his tongue deep into her mouth. Faith reaches behind her, unhooking the clasp on her bra, allowing the material to slide from her shoulders freeing her breasts. Oliver guides her back towards the bed with Faith pulling him down on top of her. Oliver bends his head down, capturing her breast between his lips, his tongue flicking out over her nipple. Faith squirms beneath his touch with a loud moan, her hand again resting on the back of his head for guidance.

Oliver presses his arm between them, sliding his hand under the cotton of her panties. “Jesus  Faithy...so wet for me” he breathes against her skin, rubbing two fingers across her clit.

“Ollie...please...Touch me” Faith breathes loudly, raising her hips to meet his hand. Oliver slips two fingers easily inside her, pressing hard, earning another loud moan from Faith. “Mmmyeah Oll’s, just like that…” Faith forcefully thrusts her hips forward, sliding his fingers deeper inside her . Oliver adds a third finger, stretching her, as he continues to please her with his hand. Oliver works her body in every direction, bringing her to the brink of orgasm several times before easing her back down. He always knew how to keep her begging.

“Please….Oh God Ollie Please” Faith squirms beneath him. He withdraws his fingers, bringing them up to his lips slipping them into his mouth sucking them clean. He never breaks eye contact with Faith, whose jaw is gaping open watching him like a hawk. Seeing him suck his fingers clean, and seeing how much he enjoys it,  just made her crave him more.  Her body burns from head to toe, everything about this man makes her toes curl. Faith shoves her hand between her own legs, desperate to finish what Oliver had started.  Oliver quickly swats her hand away “Oh no you don’t” he chuckles bending down, “Soon…” he rasps giving her a deep kiss “very...very soon.”  
  


Faith reaches over the side of the bed, grabbing a condom out of her bag, tearing it open. “Get over here”  she props herself up, wrapping her hand around his cock, giving a few hard strokes before rolling the condom down his length.

Oliver sits back, pulling Faith into his lap, positioning himself at her opening. “It’s all about you tonight Faithy.” He smoothes her hair catching her lips with his own, “but, don’t you dare cum until I say you can...” he growls against her mouth, biting at her bottom lip.

Faith’s insides twitched at Oliver’s sudden willingness to relinquish control. He had always been in charge in the bedroom, not that she minded, but letting her control things put a grin on her face. She was going to enjoy this. Faith gives him a swift shove pushing him down flat on his back. She eases herself down onto his hard cock, causing both of them to moan together. Oliver stretches and fills her, hitting all of the right spots. Faith squeezes him from within, reveling in the feeling of him inside her. She felt full. Complete.

“Come on Faith...Do it, baby...Or I will...” Oliver winces at her lack of movement, giving her ass a playful smack. Faith grinds her hips into his pushing him in deep before withdrawing and repeating that motion. “mmm thats it Faithy, just like that”. Oliver steadies her hips with his hands, guiding and encouraging her movements. “Yeah girl...Ride it..”  The pair quickly  fall into a steady rhythm with Faith burying Oliver deep inside her over and over.  The sounds of their lovemaking echoing through the quiet room.

Faith bends her head down to his shoulder, breathing hard, biting at the tan flesh. ”Ollie….I can’t” Faith pants against his skin. “I can’t take much more”

“Almost  baby” Oliver quickly grabs her hips, flipping them over. He grabs her wrists, pinning her down beneath him, really laying into her, fucking her hard and fast.

Faith wrapped her legs tight around him, fighting to free her arms. “Oh...Oh god...Ollie...please…please” she begs, her body tightening beneath him.

“Thats it...come on Faithy, let go baby” Oliver bent down to kiss her,  his tongue darting across her lips, as their bodies convulsed and spasmed together. Faith cried out against his mouth, her body giving out beneath him as her whole body shook. Oliver let out a series of deep groans as he emptied himself deep inside of her.

The pair laid together as a tangled hot mess for a few moments, breathing heavy, glistening with sweat. Oliver retreats briefly to discard the condom before crawling back into bed, wrapping his arms firmly back around Faith.  She laid silently, regaining a normal breathing pattern before turning to look at Oliver. He ran his thumb across her cheek gently, searching her eyes for any clue what she was thinking.

She rests her cheek on his chest, cuddling up to him.

“Olls?” Faith speaks softly

“Hm?”

“I missed this…”

 

“Me too, baby” Oliver kissed the top of her head.

******


	9. Every inch of your skin is a holy grail I've got to find....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY AN UPDATE!!!! The California Road Trip is still alive and strong.... ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" from the 50 Shades soundtrack because... obviously.... it goes with this chapter AND it's a fucking amazing song. Listen to it if you haven't yet. RIGHT NOW. DO IT. :)
> 
> Sorry for the delay on posting.... it's a bit of being lazy, not really proofing, we've been crazy writing, actually going to games.... yanno. Good times. Thanks for waiting (and maybe yelling at us in person lol)
> 
> Big thanks to our French Canadian friend for our little bit of Québécois French. :)

**Chapter 9**

Shanya walks down the hall to her room, slipping the keycard in the door. She walks into the dark living room, dropping her flip flops next to the chair, flipping on the small lamp sitting on the side table. She looks around the room noticing Tristan’s jacket across the back of the couch, his watch on the table and dress shoes in front of the coffee table. She smiles shutting the light off.

A soft light shines from under the door as Shayna approaches the bedroom. She gently opens the door peeking in, her breath catching at the sight before her. Tristan is sprawled out across the large bed still dressed in his dress pants, black dress shirt unbuttoned, barefoot. He’s asleep, his arm up above his head, his mouth slightly open breathing softly. She makes sure her phone is on silent as she snaps a picture of him. She smiles to herself debating if she should wake him or not. She quietly walks around the bed, opening her suitcase slowly cursing the loud zipper, grabbing a tee and shorts from the inside of the bag.

“If you take that skirt off….” Tristan yawns from behind her causing her to jump.

“I wasn’t going to…. maybe.” Shayna smirks looking over her shoulder to the bed.

“Sure, sure you weren’t. Faith ok?” Tristan sits up, rubbing his eyes, his dress shirt spreading to reveal his toned pecs and stomach.

“She is. Oliver is over there now though.” Shayna scrunches her nose looking disgusted. “I didn’t want to leave her, but she said it was ok. I threatened him again, this time with my flip flops. It was real aggressive…” she drops the clothing she just retrieved to the floor behind her moving to the end of the bed.

Tristan laughs as he slides to the bottom of the bed to where Shayna stands. “You’re so… adorable is not the right word… it was down right sexy when you got angry.” He smirks pulling her to him between his legs to where he sits on the foot of the bed. “The way you got defensive about your best friend, standing up to them both getting in their faces…. fucking hot. I have to say, I was turned on.” He places his hands on her hips, pulling her closer.

“You spoke French!” Shayna’s brown eyes sparkling in amusement. “Do you know how fucking hot that was…. holy shit. You’re aggressiveness reminds me of when you’re on the ice and you just….” She waves her arms around “.... when you just lay someone out with a hit. I can’t handle it. I still can’t believe you spoke French. I’ve never really heard you speak French except for a few YouTube videos not in actual person. Just talking about it…. I’m so hot right now….” she wraps her arms around his shoulders, her lips crashing to his catching him off guard, pushing him back. He wraps his arm around her taking her with him as he lays back on the bed, kissing her . Shayna slides back with him, her skirt riding up her legs to her hips as she straddles his lap, their tongues dueling in a heated kiss.

Tristan drops his hands down over the curve her ass, fingers running along the thin lace material just below the bunched material of her skirt. “This skirt has been driving me insane all night. I wanted to just pick you up, bring you back up here and just spank the shit out of you for showing up in front of my teammates in it,” he growls as he grabs at her hair, pulling to expose her neck, nipping softly at her skin.

“Aw, Deni doesn’t like the attention his teammates gave him?” Shayna sasses as she sits up, pulling him with her.

“No, I don’t. I don’t like not being in control of the situation,” Tristan leans back slightly to be face to face with Shayna. She smiles at him.

“Well, that’s sad because you know what…..” Shayna slides back on his thighs slowly to stand. “That’s unfortunate Tristan.” She turns to walk out of the bedroom, turning on the light in the living room. Looking around she grabs his black tie from his jacket on the back of the couch, winding it around her hand with a mischievous smile. She switches off the lights as she walks back in, Tristan is still in the same spot, leaning up on his elbows with a intrigued looks on his face. “Well, there’s no control for you right now, I can tell you that. I plan on winning that bet by the way.” Shayna unravels the tie from from her hand, tossing it around her neck letting it hang in front of her black button up shirt.

Tristan squints his eyes at her with a grimace, “Oh really?”

“You better believe it,” Shayna nods as she climbs back up on the bed, straddling his lap once again. She grabs at the sides of his dress shirt. “Off. Now,” she pushes the material at his shoulders. He resists a bit still looking at her with a heated stare. Shayna pouts gripping the material in her hands hard. “Are you for real right now? I’m not going to give up….”

“I don’t give in to anyone, Shayna. Ever,” his face completely serious, his eyes dark, pupils dilated.

Shayna looks at him, biting her lip, her thoughts racing. “You’ll do it…. and I’ll make it worth it.” She takes the tie from her neck, slipping it over Tristan’s head to settle on his shoulders. She grabs his face in both hands, looking into his eyes. “I guarantee it,” she whispers as she licks at his lower lip. Tristan closes his eyes, taking a deep breath as he lowers his shoulders. Shayna claps with enthusiasm. "I thought so."

She grabs the tie, sliding it from his neck with a snap, placing it back around her neck. She slides her hands into his dress shirt, his skin warm and smooth over his muscular shoulders as she slides the dress shirt down his biceps. He sits up so she can grab the shirt up, throwing it over her shoulder to the floor below the bed.

Tristan opens his eyes, his stare dark, his blue eyes icy. He rolls his hips upward catching Shayna off guard, "Fille coquine..."

Shayna's jaw drops as she whips her gaze to his face, her eyes wide. She stares at him for a second, her face drops to a scowl, squinting at him as a smile spreads across his face. "Oh you think that will get you out of this hmm? What did you just say?"

Tristan grins big with amusement, "Fille coquine... Wouldn't you like to know."

"Say it again..." She grabs on to his broad shoulders, the corner of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Fille coqu---" Tristan is cut off, a moan escaping his lips as Shayna grinds down on his lap, rocking her hips across his now hardening erection. “Shayna….”

“Hands up, over your head.” she grins pulling the tie from her neck.

“I don’t get to touch you first?” Tristan pouts, his lower lip extended.

“Really? I’m running this one, ok. Just… hands up.” Shayna scowls at him as he glares back. “Fine, take the skirt off if that makes you happy, then that’s it. HANDS.”

Tristan smiles catching her around the waist rolling them so he’s on top of her, her legs barely dangling off the edge of the bed. He kisses her hastily, his hand running down the front of her black button up shirt undoing the buttons as he goes lower. He pushes the material apart as he leans down placing kisses down her neck in a line down her chest briefly stopping to pay attention to the swell of her breasts, his large hands massaging the lacy material of her bra. He continues his way lower, sliding down off the bed to stand. He grabs her legs, gently flipping her to her stomach as he bends over her, fingers tracing circles on the back of her thighs just under her skirt. He gives her a playful slap on her ass.

“Whoa, that was not part of the agreement…” Shayna leans up on her elbows looking over her shoulder at him.

“Maybe it should be,” he give her a serious look back.

Shayna bites her lip pondering the invitation. Tristan smirks as he runs his hand up her thigh again, over the swell of her cheek to the zipper of the skirt, unhooking the eyelet at the top, then slowly dragging the small zipper down. He curls his fingers in the hem of the skirt pulling it down her legs tantalizingly slow, fingers grazing her skin inch by inch as he slides lower. Shayna let’s out small moan, her hands curling into the sheet below her. Tristan discards the skirt to the floor.

“I think you deserve a bit of a spanking for wearing that…” Tristan leans over her thighs, fingers again tracing circles between soft kisses. Shayna leans up looking back at him, eyes full of lust.

“A few,” she grins dropping her head to her arm. “A few… and you’re still being tied up.”

“Fair trade,” he muses as he sits up on the bed next to her. “Just a quick few.” He slides his hands up her thighs over the globes of her ass pulling down her lace panties. “Are you ready?” he asks gently massaging the soft skin.

“Yes, god, yes…” Shanya voice muffled from her arm. “Do it Tris--- oh god…” The first slap echoing in the room along with Shayna’s muffled moan. “Again…”

Tristan laughs as he switches to her other side, gently massaging before he gives her a slap, a little harder this time. She shivers below him, goosebumps starting to show over her redding skin. He alternates back and forth for another six slaps.

“That’s e-e-enough…” Shayna calls out raising her head from her arm as she flips over slightly wincing at her contact with the bed. “I can’t….” she pants. He smiles at her warmly, his hand pushing her panties down her legs. “No… oh no you don’t. Get on the bed, hands up.” She reaches back to grab the tie from behind her.

Tristan turns to crawl up the head of the bed, placing a few pillows together gently plopping himself down on his back. He watches Shayna as she crawls up next to him, nodding for him to put his hands up. She wraps the tie around his hands, knotting it tightly.

“Don’t even think about moving…” she points at him as she shakes his hands making sure the knot doesn’t unravel. She slides off the side of the bed briskly walking out to the living room grabbing her phone from her purse. Clicking around her phone she opens the camera turning so she can be in the picture as she holds it up. “Say hi to Faith…” she laughs snapping the picture quickly. She quickly texts it to Faith with a few gloating words. Discarding the phone to the side table, she turns taking in Tristan’s frowning form before her pouting at him. “Honestly you look like I’m hurting you….”

“No, but this is maddening… can you just… before I throw you down regardless of my hands?” Tristan shakes his hands, his look pleading. “Please…”

Shayna rolls her eyes “Fine…” She walks to her suitcase, pulling out a foil packet as she hops onto the bed placing it next to his hip. Running her hand down the bulge in his pants, she smirks undoing his belt and zipper. Tristan’s hips raise off the bed, following her hand, his eyes dark as he watches her every move. Shayna grabs at the waistband of his pants pulling both his pants and boxer briefs off in one swift motion, shimmying down as she pulls them off him tossing them off the side of the bed. She crawls back up, grabbing the packet ripping it open as she leans over catching the tip of his cock in her mouth giving him once over.

“Shayna…. I swear to god…” Tristan growls, still keeping his hands above his head obediently. She looks up at him letting him fall out of her mouth with a soft pop. She grins at him, gently licking at the length. “Untie me…”

“No,” she grins, licking him again. “Nope.”

“Shayna, untie me.” Tristan shifts his hips away from her. “Untie me.”

“For the last time, no.” She stops, putting her hand on his hipbone settling him as she reaches out placing the condom on him causing him to wince at the contact. She sits up throwing her leg over his hips straddling him as she positions herself over him taking him in one swift motion filling herself with him. She takes her shirt off tossing it to the side as she reaches back to unhook her bra discarding it as well.

Shayna leans forward placing her hands on his pecs as she slowly rocks her hips. She watches his hands ball into fists above his head, the muscles in his arms rippling in restraint.

“Please untie me,” Tristan pleads from below her. “Shayna…. please…”

She leans lower placing a kiss on his lips, her tongue tracing his lower lip as he opens for her. She can feel his arms move above her causing her to reach up placing a hand on his elbows as she breaks the kiss, their eyes linking. She starts picking up her pace, using her hands on his arms as leverage.

“I’ll untie you when you cum…” She smirks mischievously at him, her grip on his arms tightening. He groans lifting his hips to meet her strides. “There you go Deni…. show me how mad you are that I won’t untie you. Ughh, there you go…. ”

Tristan spits a string of French words through his teeth as he picks his hands up off the pillows above him. Shayna forces his arms down, her fingers digging into his biceps as she slams down harder.

“For fuck sake…. Deni…. fuck…Deni…..” Shayna calls out, her orgasm blasting through her as she throws her head back, hands still on him. He thrusts up as her insides clench him tighter.

“Shayna……. Sha….Shaynaaa” Tristan comes forcefully slamming into her, filling her to the brink as he orgasms. He forces his arms up, pushing her back slightly as he loops his arms around her shoulders sitting up, kissing her aggressively.

Shayna reaches behind her head to untie the knot from his hands. He sighs a breath of relief as he shakes out his hands.

“Oooh, my bad. You’re going to have bruises,” Shayna reaches out grabbing his arm running her fingers down the marks she made with a pout. “I’m sorry.”

He looks down to his arms shrugging, he puts his hands on her waist picking her up off him setting her to his side. He rolls off the side of the bed taking the condom off knotting it to throw it in the small garbage next to the armchair. He stretches his arms out to the sides, stretching his shoulders.

Shayna pulls the comforter up around her shoulders as she sits on the bed watching Tristan, his face neutral. “You…. ok?” She looks to him searching for any bit of emotion.

He looks at her nodding his head at her, his face still emotionless. He climbs onto the bed sliding next to her, picking up the comforter to slide under.

Shayna sits there looking down at him waiting for anything from him. “Are you mad? I don’t… I’m sorry? I won’t do that again….” she bites her thumb nervously unsure of how to take the silence from him.

He looks up at her from his pillow, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly. “I called you a naughty girl.” Shayna’s eyebrow raises as she tilts her head to the side in confusion. “Before…. I didn’t think you would follow through. You held your ground, that was such a turn on.”

“For christ’s sakes you had me worried, Tristan….. ughhh,” Shanya drops to the bed next to him dramatically.

“I told you, I don’t give in easily. I thought once I said untie me you would have. I’m honestly impressed. I was just thinking to myself, a little scared because I thoroughly enjoyed that and that’s not like me at all,” he pulls her to him gently kissing her forehead. “There can be a next time.”

****  
  


********

“The locker room though? Come on JP, I think you genuinely just enjoy watching me squirm,” Shayna sighs playing with her guest pass around her neck.

“Just do me that favor, I need these signed by Coach. Just move fast?” JP grins handing over the stack of Scarlet files.

“Last time I checked I was Faith’s assistant,” Shayna rolls her eyes, taking the files from JP glaring at him.

“Correction, you are my assistant in real life, I was just doing her a favor allowing you to come. And you deserve a little trip,” JP grins. “Thank you Shay, now please….. go.”

Shayna shakes her head as she holds the folders to her chest turning on her heel to exit the conference room the team’s staff was set up in. She smiles holding up her pass at a security guard just outside the double doors leading to the locker rooms. He nods opening the door for her to walk through. She can hear the chatter of the guys echoing throughout the hallway. As she turns the corner she’s greeted by a circle of the boys clad in track pants or shorts, some with sweatshirts on, kicking around a soccer ball for a warm up. The balls passes between players, legs in action kicking the ball across the circle.

“Don’t drop it Kopecky,” Pesek scoffs with a smirk as he passes across with a tap of the inside of his foot.

Kopecky rolls his eyes giving the ball a gentle kick sending it sailing over Gavin’s head by just inches. Shayna steps forward giving the ball a kick with her platformed shoe before the ball hits the ground sending it back towards Logan across the circle. The circle of players starts clapping as Logan catches the ball.

“And she’s sporty too!” Casey laughs “In heels no less. Good job.” He reaches an arm out to Shayna as she walks up, patting her shoulder.

“Thanks. I enjoy a little footie here and there,” she blushes catching Tristan’s eyes on her from across the circle.

“Proper terminology too,” Pesek nods with amusement.

“Of course, I’m a huge Juventus fan. I enjoy a little Southampton and Bayern too. If you guys will excuse me…”  Shayna slips past Casey across the circle walking past Tristan with a smile as she heads to the door to the locker room. He nods at her as he takes a sip from his water bottle. Shayna notices he has on a new sweatshirt, the exact same as the one he gave her to wear.

She continues on into the locker room walking past the remaining members of the team at their stalls as she knocks at the coach’s office door.

“Good afternoon Coach, can you do me the favor of signing these real quick?” She hands over the files to Coach St. Claire who reaches out a hand from behind his laptop. He drops them to the desk, flipping them each open quickly signing.

“Here you go. Thanks.” he barely makes eye contact with her as he hands the files back.

“Thank you?” Shayna takes the folders back, stepping back out the door of the small office, closing it behind her.

“Shayna!” Oliver calls out from his stall. He’s sitting to the left of the office door in a pair of compression shorts and performance tee. “Hey! What are you doing down here?”

“Office work. Fun stuff.” Shayna holds up the folders watching as Tristan walks across the room to his stall next to Oliver.

“Shayna,” Tristan grins as he stops in front of his stall.

“Tristan,” Shayna turns pink slightly trying to hold back a smile as she steps closer to them.

“Well, awkward….” Oliver stands up from his stall. “Being that you’re down here Shay, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for… yanno.” He looks up to Tristan standing next to him receiving a nod in agreement. “We uh, cleared things up last night and I think things will be for the better. I just wanted to say I’m sorry to you for dragging you into it. I’m really happy that Faith has someone like you to threaten people with footwear on her behalf.” Tristan laughs from behind him. “ I only have her best interests at heart, Shayna.” He looks around the room as if looking for something, briefly pausing for a second. “She is absolutely the best thing for me. I regret everything I’ve screwed up in the past and see our the future for the better. I…. I love her,” his cheeks flush with his last sentence.

“Well thanks for that Oliver. And good, I’m happy. If she is happy, I am happy. But don’t think I still don’t stand by what I said. I will beat the shit out of you if you hurt her.” she gives him a big innocent smile. “I’m not afraid of you. Anyway… Good, I’m proud of you. OH! Oh, let’s for fun,” she pulls her phone out from a pocket in her bubble skirt “Smile!”

Oliver grins posing for Shayna. “Honestly? Put your leg down Oliver. What the hell…..” Shanya pouts. “Just look freaking normal and in love. Is this fucking GQ?” she snaps the picture.  “And you… what are you laughing about back there….” she leans past Oliver snapping a picture of Tristan sitting at his stall laughing. “It’s been real boys. I have to get upstairs. Good game!”

Shayna puts her phone back in her pocket, looking at Tristan, making a kissy face at him as she turns to head out of the locker room chuckling to herself. As she opens the door to the hallway and arm grabs the door.

“Shayna.” Hunter’s voice jolts her. “I need to talk to you.”

Shayna raises an eyebrow looking up at Hunter from over her glasses. “....Really?”

“Just a quick minute. Is Faith ok? She won’t return my calls or texts,” his expression sad but with genuine concern as he looks down to her.

“Uh, yeah. She’s ok. Her phone is destroyed though.” Shayna keeps her answers short as she looks unamused at him.

“Can you tell her to get in contact with me? If you see her upstairs, tell her I need to talk to her. Just as soon as possible please. If you would do that for me.”

“Yeah, sure maybe. Maybe you need to get your shit straight. I’ll think about it. When she’s ready I’m sure she’ll get in touch. Maybe you should also think about what you did. I was kinda rooting for you, but… Anyway…. I’ll think about letting her know. Have a good game.” Shayna side steps Hunter walking back down the hall to the double doors leading to the conference room.

********

Faith flicks off the main lights in the Scarlet suite, the glow from the TV the only light illuminating the small room, while waiting for everyone to arrive. Having been at the arena since late morning after having such a rollercoaster night, she sat happily, enjoying the silence. She tucked her black and white polkadot skirt beneath her as she sat, propping her heels up on the counter with a content sigh. Sipping on her starbucks, she takes her new phone out from the bag, turning it on for the first time. After a few moments the operating system loads. 21 missed texts. “Jesus,” Faith chuckles opening the app.

Shayna - 4 messages

Gavin - 1 message

Mom - 2 messages

JP - 3 messages

Hunter - 11 messages

**Shayna (1:59am):** _Drumroll please…._

**Shayna (2:00am):** *Picture of Tristan, hands bound by a black tie above his head, pouting, Shanya with a big smile*

**Shayna (2:00am):** _CHA-CHING $$$$$$_

**Shayna (2:01am):** _Drinks on YOU!!  :D_

**Gavs (8:42am):** _Sorry I didn’t stay at your door. Didn’t know if you were coming back. If you need anything...you know what room I’m in. Hope you’re doing ok. :)_

**JP (11:21am):** _Faith we need to talk…_

**JP (11:22am)** : _I’m going to need a few minutes with you later to discuss some things._

**JP (11:22am):** _It will probably be uncomfortable. Sorry in Advance._

**Mom (3:32pm):** _Hi Sweetie - hope you’re enjoying California!!_

**Mom (3:34pm):** _Dad and I want to visit soon - call me when you’re free! Love you! <3_

“Holy…...shit” Faith breathes, scrolling through Hunter’s texts

**Hunter (11:53pm):** _Faith...I’m sorry._

**Hunter (12:06am):**   _I don’t know what to say other than I’m sorry_

**Hunter (12:11am):**   _You know how I feel about you… I can’t stand the thought of you being with someone else. It makes my blood boil...you’re very special to me._

**Hunter (12:36am):**   _Faith please…_  

**Hunter (12:40am):**   _Look, I know I lost my temper, and I know that who you date is your decision, but I dont want to share you. You’re amazing… I just want to make you happy._

**Hunter (12:52am):** _I just don’t know what you see in Moreno. He’s not right for you Faith._

**Hunter (1:01am):**   _I’m sorry I let it escalate to this, but I just can’t let you walk away from me._

**Hunter (1:05am):**   _:(_

**Hunter (1:16am):**   _Can you atleast let me know that you’re ok?_

**Hunter (1:16am):** _I’m worried about you…._

**Hunter (1:21am):**   _You’re obviously not going to respond to me tonight, and thats ok. Faith you’re not like any girl I’ve ever dated. Theres something about you that just pulls me in. I don’t let people get close to me, and this is part of the reason why. I promise I’ll try harder ... I’m going to give you space. I know theres a lot on your mind… but at some point we need to talk about this…_

Faith sighs shooting a quick text to Shayna. It’s unusual that there was no one milling about the suite yet.

**Faith (4:23pm):** _Where are you...it’s late?_

**Shayna (4:25pm): _I’m on my way…. JP is driving me insane. I thought I was YOUR assistant._**

**Faith (4:26pm):** _JP texted me earlier saying “We need to talk, it will be uncomfortable”... I’m totally screwed...not in a good way... :(_

**Shayna (4:28pm): _Yeah, about that….. not screwed. I did damage control. Just a little talk, nothing serious. You know I got you on this ;) I had help from the boys too…. I’ll tell you when I get up there. 2 minutes… Elevators in this dump are slow…._**

**Faith (4:31pm):** _Your 2 minutes are up…_

“I am not late…. I’m here. I’m here,” Shayna strolls in holding her phone up, her black sparkle sweater shimmering in the light. “I had to go down to the locker room which you know, I can’t deal with generally, but I can’t deal with them all in compression pants and shorts and… Ughhh.” She drops to the leather chair across from Faith. “Hiiiiiiii by the way.”

“Hiiii” Faith chuckles “It’s only 4:30 and I’m exhausted and I’m starving…” she sighs with a pout “and I didn’t see any compression pants.”

“Oh, oh, I did. Speaking of,” Shanya taps around on her phone “I was told to show you this.” Faith’s phone chimes as Shayna looks up grinning. “Complements of Oliver.”

“...it’s not a dick pic right…?” Faith smirks looking down at her phone opening the message, a grin spreading across her face as she giggles. “He would…”

“I got him to stop standing like it’s a fucking Captain Morgan ad. You know the one where everyone stands with their leg up? I couldn’t stop laughing.” Shayna rolls her eyes.  

“I fucking love him so much for this” Faith laughs loudly “Is he flexing?” she giggles more, covering her obnoxious grin with her hand.

Shayna muses, smiling. “....oohhh...you too?”

“Hm?” Faith raises her eyebrow,

“You just said you loooooooooooove him” Shayna chuckles making kissy noises.

“You know what I meant, Shayna!” Faith shook her head “But What do you mean ‘you too?’ “

“Just a brief locker room encounter with a certain friend of ours who is in looooveeee with YOU.” Shayna smirks

A deep blush creeps up Faith’s cheeks, a smile spreading across her lips “He told you that…”

“Mmmmhmmmm” Shayna chuckles in a sing-song tone “He told me lots of things… Some I cannot disclose”

Faith’s phone blares in her hand, startling her. “What the hell kinda text sound is that?”

**Hunter (4:51pm):** _You can’t ignore me forever Faith…Please…we need to talk._

“Hunter…” she frowns at Shayna “I still haven’t talked to him…”

**Faith (4:53pm): _I wasn't ignoring you...I broke my phone, just got a new one._**

**Faith (4:53pm): _Good Luck tonight._**

**Hunter (4:56pm):** _I'm sorry._

**Faith (4:57pm): _I know, Hunts..._**

**Faith (4:58pm): _Just focus on the game. Well talk about everything later._**

**Hunter (5:02pm):** _I need to see you, Faith._

**Hunter (5:03pm)** : _Please._

**Faith (5:05pm):** _**After the game.**_

**Hunter (5:05pm):** _It can't wait until after the game..._

**Faith (5:06pm):** _**JP is already pissed at me. I don't think going down there will do anything to help my cause.**_

**Hunter (5:08pm)** : _I will meet you anywhere. I just need to see you. Please, Faith._

**Hunter (5:08pm):** _I'm begging you._

**Faith (5:09pm):** _**Press Room, 10 minutes. I'll unlock the door.**_

Faith grabs her visitor ID badge and her cell phone, standing from her chair. "Shay, I have to run an errand...can you cover for me for like...20 minutes?"

Shayna raises an eyebrow making air quotes "run an errand?" She puts her hands on her hips "You're gonna have to do better than that..."

"Hunter."

"Good...He was BEGGING me earlier to get you to talk to him. I kinda felt bad for him" Shayna made a face "He was pretty torn up about what happened.."

"I won't be gone long. He has to be out on the ice in 1/2 an hour. I told him he had 10 minutes." Faith picks at her freshly manicured nails "Why am I so nervous though..."

"Because it's Hunter? He's always very...intense." Shayna gave her a shove. "hurry back, but make sure you bring back food as a decoy! More specifically burritos" she smirks.

Faith shakes her head with a chuckle exiting the suite. As she makes her way downstairs through the hallways her heartbeat increases tenfold. She was always excited to see Hunter but today felt different. He always made her feel special; beautiful, sexy and appreciated...as if she were the only girl in the room. He was strong but gentle and could easily command a room, but today Faith felt intimidated.

A pair of arms quickly reach out from one of the doorways in the hall, catching her off guard. Before she knew what was happening she was in either a small room or closet, her back pressed against the inner wall. She tries to scream, but her breath caught in her throat. There were no lights other than the thin blade of light seeping in from under the door. She felt a presence in front of her, holding her against the wall.  He was tall and strong.

Faith jumps as a hand moves from her waist, slowly sliding up her side to her face. The touch was gentle, almost painfully so. She could feel their breath on her skin. He was close to her. She felt a finger trace the outline of her lips, the top first, then the bottom. Moments later she felt her assailants lips pressed against hers. Timidly at first, gaining confidence with each passing second. There was nowhere for her to retreat. She breathes in deeply, the familiar scent flooding her nostrils. The sudden realization of who she was kissing made her instantly weak in the knees. Something about not being able to see and being held captive was undeniably sexy. She reached out to him, wrapping her arms around his huge frame. He was towering over her, his body wrapped in full gear. He pulls back, their mouths separating with a loud smack.

"From the bottom of my heart, I can't tell you how sorry I am..."

"I know Hunts..." Faith spoke softly, her chest heaving from their steamy kiss.

"Can we talk later tonight at the hotel?"

Faith sighs, "Hunter... Worry about the game right now. We can figure all of that other stuff out after while."

"This is more important that some stupid game" Hunter growls, frustrated. "Please, Faith..."

"Ok, ok…Once we get settled in. Ok? Can you please focus on tonight though? Please? This is an important game…” Faith pleads.

“I’m fine…” Hunter leans forward, pressing his lips against hers again quickly, before opening the door. The light floods the room causing Faith to squint her eyes. Hunter quickly exits the room walking down the hallway, the thunk of his skate guards on the polished floor echoing as he exits.  

Faith adjusts her skirt and blouse before exiting the room. A few minutes later she enters the suite placing Shayna’s burrito on the counter, plopping down in one of the seats overlooking the ice.

Shayna gives her a look, taking in her flushed face, smeared lipstick and glossy stare. “Uhh…you wanna talk about all this?” she waves her hands at her.

Faith shakes her head “He’s trying so hard, Shay” she starts picking at her nails again. “It’s like...he’s just…”

“Desperate” Shayna nods.

“It’s not like him” Faith shakes her head “He’s always firm in what he wants. Confident. Strong… I don’t know how to handle him like this.”

“So talk to him later, and feel him out.” Shayna smiles “It’ll be ok” she puts a hand on her shoulder. “Just try not to think about it…”

*****

JP steps in front of the girls at the beginning of the first intermission. The game was still tied 0-0.

“Faith...do you have a minute.” JP asks, hovering over them.

“Sure JP…” Faith picks at her nails, “Everything ok?” she asks nervously.

“It is, I just want to talk about some issues I heard about it. Nothing crazy, I just want to…. listen, I’m not going to say you can’t date who ever you want to. I only care when it affects the team. I don’t need another issue of a black eye and fights during practices. What ever personal issues are going on, sort them out. Get them back on track. Shayna, Tristan, Gavin and Logan all told me what happened. It was handled quietly which I appreciate, but I don’t want it to happen again. I let your hallway episode go, this escalated to a second time. Don’t push it to a third or I will use the fraternizing clause. I don’t want it to come to that, understood?”  

Faith nods slowly hanging her head “I do…I never meant for anything like this to happen, JP.”

“I get that and I’m not blaming you for anything in particular, I don’t even want to begin to understand what is even going on because that’s your business, but when it comes to the team, I’ll do what I have to do. Don’t make me have to do anything.” JP nods grimly. “Are we in agreement?”

“I understand..” Faith sighs, rubbing her hands over her face quickly. “I’ll make sure things get sorted out…”

“Good. Don’t be upset, I just had to let you know I knew. Hopefully it works out for you,” JP walks back to the bar grabbing a bottle of Scotch and a glass. “Oh and Shayna, don’t think you’re excluded either. I’m aware of you and Tristan. For the love of god is everyone hooking up in the office? Just… do me a solid, keep it quiet.”

“Shayna doesn’t know how to keep it quiet…” Faith smirks.

JP sighs dropping the ice in his hand in his glass. “I don’t want to know… I don’t care to know.” He starts to pour the amber liquid into his glass before he catches a glimpse of Shayna cracking up in her seat. He shakes his head picking up the bottle taking a swig from it. “You’ll all be the death of me…” he laughs pouring some in his glass as well.

“Whatever you say, JP….” Shayna slaps Faith’s arm. “Really though…”

“But in all seriousness JP, maybe you can help…” Faith’s eyes lit up. “I know you know...a little... about what’s been going on. But...I can’t get them to stop fighting. Literally. Fighting.  It’s breaking my heart” she frowns “But...I mean...maybe if you talked to them? Threatened them…” she asked innocently “They would stop fighting and just share?”

“So what you’re saying is you want me to tell them in so many words to get their shit together or I’ll suspend them?” JP asks from the small bar top above them. “Is that where you are going?”

“They don't have to be best friends...but I can’t handle them fist fighting anymore. It’s killing me” Faith frowns “I just need time to figure things out on my end...and they have to be willing to give that to me. But nothing I say seems to be working….”

“Fine. Tomorrow before their practice I’ll speak to them both letting them know their actions against each other are not ideal team behavior. I’ll drop the suspension word, see how that makes them feel. Up to you if you want to be there, I can say their actions have repercussions on you as well. Will that work?”

“Have I told you how much I like that new suit? You look SO dapper in it…” Faith smirks blowing him a kiss. “You’re sure you’re not mad?...I really feel bad, JP.”

“No, I’m not mad really…. upset that two grown men can’t get their shit together. But that’s what happens when you’re a guy and you let your dick do all the talking I guess,” he chuckles taking a sip of his drink. “At least Moreno is scoring goals” he shrugs.

Shayna chimes in “He LOVES her too…” she smirks at JP.

“SHAYNA!” Faith scoffs.

“What!? Maybe that’s the extra boost he needs to have to score more goals… I don’t know. Keep on pace for that 40 goal season.” she shrugs stuffing some pretzels in her mouth.

“Again…. details I don’t necessarily need to know… but good for you Faith.” JP laughs.

Faith smiles a bit “I wish it were that easy… but thanks, JP.”

The 2nd period was pretty uneventful. The teams exchange a handful of penalties, none of which amount to anything. The 3rd period is all Scarlet, as they won the game 3-0. A goal by Pesek opens the scoring, followed by two quick goals by Tristan and Hunter. The rest of the period goes off without contest and they win the contest 3-0.

“Thank.You.GOD”. Faith breathes “This bus ride was about to suck if we had lost…”

*******

“Tell me we are flying for like a half hour because I can not stand being on his bus for like two hours….” Shayna moans kicking off her shoe, rubbing her toes.

“You could always come sit back here…” Tristan calls out from behind her.

“She’s not sitting on your lap, Deni,” Logan muses from across from him.

“Sadly, I think we’re driving to San Diego…” Faith pouts resting her head against the glass “It’s only like an hour and a half...it would take longer to get to the airport, check in, board, take off, land, get bags, get on the bus and go…” She rubs her head “but I’m exhausted…Go sit with Tristan so I can sleep on your seat.”

“Fine,” Shayna pouts putting her shoe back on. “I’ll just go cuddle up next to him then if you don’t wanna snuggle with me. I get it.” She stands sliding out of the seat locating a smiling Tristan. “Don’t get any ideas you…. I’m most likely going to fall asleep.”

“Obviously, come here….” Tristan slides over to the window making room for Shayna to sit. She pulls her shoes off hooking them on the pocket on the seat in front of her as she slides in next to him. “Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?”

“Yes, please.” Shayna smiles as he leans forward slipping his suit jacket off as she leans into him letting him drape the jacket over her. She snuggles into his chest, inhaling his scent with a sigh as she closes her eyes, his arms circled around her.

Fifteen minutes go by and the bus enters the highway, cruising south on the interstate. Most of the team has completely passed out by now, with a select few on their laptops or cellphones. 

Faith stirs with a nudge, whining as someone lifts her head from the seat.

“Shhh...go back to sleep” Oliver smiles, smoothing her hair gently.

“What’re you doing…” Faith rubs her eye, propping herself up on her elbow.

“Your neck will kill you in the morning if you continue to lay bent like that...So,” he pats his lap “Lay back down…”

Faith raises an eyebrow, “You realize there are 30 other people on the bus” she speaks softly.

“Just sleep...no funny business” He strokes her cheek “I promise.”

Faith smiles, resting her head back down on his lap “Thanks, Oll…”

“Sweet dreams, Faithy…”

*****

“Shay… Shay wake up…” Tristan whispers, nudging Shayna awake. “Wake up sleepy head. Aww, you drooled on my shirt. You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Shayna cracks her eyes wincing at the light overhead. “Are we there yet? There better be a good reason for waking me…” she rubs at her mouth, slightly damp from spit. “Oh crap, I did drool. Ew, my bad.” she smirks rubbing her mouth again with the back of her hand.

Tristan takes his jacket off her as she sits up. Shayna looks over the seats noticing the top of Oliver’s head in the seat next to Faith.

“We’re here,” Tristan says softly. Shayna nods taking her shoes from the chair in front of her slipping them on. “Ugh, just a few minutes more feet… Can’t I just piggie back ride upstairs with you?”

“As amusing as that sounds, I believe you have a job to do. I don’t think Faith wants to do that by herself.”

“Good point. I’m so exhausted. This staying up late business needs to take a rest tonight,” she pouts. “Your choice. Sleep in your own bed or come cuddle. But that’s it, cuddles.” Tristan’s jaw drops slightly as if to protest. “No…. take it to the shower. I don’t want to be mean, but I am really tired.” Shayna gets up from her seat sliding out to the aisle walking to the front. She nudges Oliver’s arm. “Let’s go. You probably should get moving. Faith…. come on. I’m tired.”

Oliver stirs, looking over his shoulder, nodding to Shayna. “Faith…” he gently strokes her cheek “honey you gotta wake up.”

Faith stirs, nuzzling her head “Sleeping” she mumbles.

“Faithy” Oliver chuckles “Come on…” he gently sits her up “I gotta get out of here before coach sees me…”

Faith blinks twice rubbing her eyes again, her contacts dry. “Ok ok, I’m up” she pouts.

Oliver gives her a soft kiss before standing up “I’ll see you upstairs later?”

Faith shakes her head “I uh….I...promised...Hunter we could talk...about things.” She made a face “We haven’t talked yet since everything happened…”

Oliver is obviously upset, but nods slowly. “It’s okay” he forces a small smile. “I understand.”

Faith puts a hand on his cheek with a smile. “Thank you...seriously...thank you”

He places a kiss on her cheek before retreating to his old seat on the bus.

*****


	10. You're the only thing I wanna touch....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to back! San Diego comin' in hot! Some old friends return!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from Ellie Goulding again! It honestly is such a good song.... It just been on repeat. Do yourself a favor and listen to it. :)

**Chapter 10**

****  
  


Faith was exhausted. She makes her way up to her room, dropping her bags in the corner. She pulls out a tanktop and shorts, not even taking the time to unpack. She knew Hunter would be up to see her at any minute. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep, but she made a deal with him, and she would hold up her end of the bargain. She knew she had to talk to him, she owed him that much, but for some reason she still felt hesitant.

 

Faith changes quickly and walks into the bathroom taking a long look at herself in the mirror. Why was this conversation such a struggle for her?  She has spent months trying to get Hunter to want her, to crave her like she craves him. What happened? She thinks back to their date in Florida, a smile creeping across her face. A perfect night, complete with romance, intelligent conversation, flirting and a lot of butterflies. Hunter has everything she’s ever wanted in a man. A kind, caring heart, considerate of her wants and needs, supportive of her ambitions. He loves to spoil her and make her feel wanted…needed. His features are near perfection, with his short dark hair, always trimmed neatly, his high cheek bones, a strong jawline, and the cutest little dimples if you could get him smile. He was strong but gentle, muscular, masculine, and god one word with his accent could turn any female into a babbling puddle of stupid. Hunter was the whole package, there was no denying that.

 

A loud knock at the door startles her, causing her to jump. She steps out into the walkway, looking through the peephole of the door. Hunter stands staring at the ground, shoulders slumped, his hands stuffed in his pockets. In the little better than two years that Faith has known him, she’s never seen Hunter in this state. He was always confident, self-assured, poised. Today, he looks sad, broken and disheveled.

 

Faith flipped the bolt on the door, gently pulling it open. “Hey Hunts” she smiles, causing him to raise his gaze from the floor briefly but avoiding eye contact. His face was drawn out, a mixture of sadness and worry. Her heart broke for him. “Come in…” she pulls the door back, inviting him inside.

 

Hunter steps in quietly, his gaze shifting back to the floor. Faith closes the door, throwing the bolt over. She turns towards him, sliding her arms around him from behind, causing Hunter to stop in his tracks. “It’s ok, Hunter…” she spoke softly, resting her cheek on his back, pressing her body against his. After a few moments she let her arms fall, stepping in front of him. He still stands, head hung, refusing to look at her. “Hunts…” she stepped into him “Come here” she extends her arms to him again, popping up on her tippy toes to reach around his neck. He let his arms drape around her, pulling her to him. The two stand in a silent embrace, taking each other in. Faith buries her face in his shoulder, breathing in deep, his scent intoxicating. She drags her fingers across the back of his shoulders, over his neck and through his hair. His whole body was tense.

 

Faith took a step back, placing on hand on his face. “Hey…” Hunter slowly lifted his gaze to look at her, his brown eyes sad. She pops up on her toes again, placing a lingering kiss on his lips. “It’s ok, Hunter…we’re gonna figure things out.” His expression remains blank, but he nods slowly.  

 

Faith interlaces her fingers with his, giving him a tug. “Come with me..” She stops him at the corner of her bed, reaching down pulling his t-shirt up over his head. “Take off your pants, and lay face down. I’ll be right back.” Hunter watches her cross the room before sliding his sweat pants off, laying on her bed.

Faith goes over to her luggage, rummaging through for her bottle of tanning oil. Pulling it from the bag she flicks the main light off, the small bedside lamp providing just enough light for the room.  Walking back towards the bed, she climbs on top of Hunter, straddling his back. She drizzles some of the oil down the tense muscles of his shoulders, setting the rest of the bottle on the nightstand. She places her hands on his skin, spreading the oil over his muscles.

 

“It’s not good for you to be this tense, Hunts…” Faith digs her palms into his left shoulder blade, eliciting a loud sigh from below her. She presses the tight tissue beneath her hands, letting her fingers work the knots out. She glides her hands over to his right shoulder, repeating the process. As she kneads the skin, she feels his body slowly start to relax beneath her. “That’s it…just relax babe.” Faith moves her hands from his shoulders down his arms, massaging his biceps. The strong muscles visibly protruding as her thumbs slip easily over his tanned skin. Bringing her hands back up his arms she glides her fingers down his spine. Flattening her palms she drags upward, smoothing out the muscles on his back. She continues this motion several times, each time being rewarded by a muffled groan from Hunter. Faith shifts her weight, turning to face his lower half. Grabbing the bottle, she squirts more oil out into her hands, before sliding them down each of his legs. Being a hockey player, she knew this would be the area that affects him the most. She starts with his feet, leaning down to press out each of his arches, before dragging her thumbs up over his Achilles. Faith wraps both hands around his left calf, stroking the long muscle up and down. She is greeted by a throaty moan from Hunter, as he shifts his hips beneath her. A smile creeps across her face as she switches to the other leg, digging her hands into the strong flesh.  She digs her palm into his left hamstring, her fingers sliding firmly against the skin of his inner thigh causing Hunter to draw in a sharp breath.

 

“I bet that feels good” she cooed at him, her hands continuing her assault on the sensitive skin. Faith drew her palms all the way up to right under his ass, then slides them back down his hamstring with ease. She continues stroking his leg feeling the muscles react to her touch before switching sides. She continues her massage on his right leg, repeating the motions from his Achillies, up his calf to his hamstring. Faith makes sure to pay special attention to his inner thigh, since he responded so positively on the other leg. Hunter was becoming visibly excited with each passing moment as he struggles to find a comfortable position.  Faith removed her hands from his skin before climbing off of his frame.

 

“Flip over” Faith instructs, giving him a nudge.

 

Hunter is slow to move, pressing his upper body upward after a couple of seconds. He rolls over with a flop, his face visibly flushed and his erection straining against his boxers.  Faith takes him in, flashing him a sly smile “I thought I told you to relax…” He shrugs nonchalantly, throwing his hands behind his head.

 

Faith grabs the bottle of oil, squirting a steady stream into her palm. Rubbing her hands together, she regains her position over top of him, placing her palms flat onto his chest.  She works her hands over his shoulder muscles, trailing a finger down his clavicle. Faith digs her hands into the strong muscles of his chest, over each of his pecks, sinking her fingers into the taut flesh. Glancing upward, Faith caught a glimpse of Hunter. Eyes closed, his mouth slightly agape, his breathing speeding up with each glide of her fingers. He was enjoying every second of her touch. Faith ran her fingers down over stomach, resting on his abs, tracing each one with her fingertips. Hunter shifts beneath her again, in obvious agony. Faith sits back on her heels, dropping her hips down on top of his. Hunter draws in a deep breath, his eyes flying open. Faith stares him down, a smile stamped across her lips. “Easy Tiger…”

 

Faith eases herself back off of him, spinning around to face his lower half. She reapplies the oil to her hands, leaning down to each of his legs. She made sure to give her ass a little extra lift, since he was in prime position to watch her every move.  Faith ran her hands over his legs, paying close attention to each thigh, working and kneading the muscles. “The definition in your legs Hunter… so sexy” She digs her fingers in, rolling out the skin, letting her nails drag gently as she goes.

 

Faith brings her hands up, resting them on his hips, rubbing over the top of his boxers, the sliding material creating more friction on his straining cock. “I feel like I’m forgetting something…” She turns her head, looking over her shoulder at him with a smile.

 

Hunter’s dark eyes met hers quickly, his breath shallow, his lips pursed. Faith sat back, turning to face him. She crawls up his body, cupping his face in her slick hands, pressing her mouth against his. He opens his mouth slipping his tongue out to meet her lips. Faith willingly took him in, their tongues dancing quickly. His hands reach out, pulling her on top of him. Faith presses her hips down onto his, rubbing against his hard cock. Hunter lets out a satisfied groan against her lips. Faith pulls back from him, nipping at his lower lip playfully. “You like that?” Faith slides her hips over his again, her shorts rubbing against his boxers once more. “You like when I rub against your hard cock, Hunts?” She grins as he bucks his hips in response. She kisses him deeply once more before sitting back on her heels. “Close your eyes.”

 

“But-“  

Faith quickly cuts him off. “No ‘buts’…close your eyes Hunter….”

 

Reluctantly, Hunter relaxes into the pillow, closing his eyes.

 

Faith wipes the oil off her hands before leaning down slipping her fingers under the elastic of his boxers, tugging them down, finally allowing his cock to spring free.  Faiths eyes grow wide, taking in his size.  She licks her palm a few times before wrapping a hand snugly around him, stroking him lightly.

 

Hunter lets out a throaty moan as Faith runs her hand up and down his length.

 

“God Hunter you’re so big and hard.” Faith ran her thumb around his tip, rubbing in a circular pattern. “I can feel you throbbing in my hands. Do you like when I stroke you like this?”

 

Hunter groans in reply “Yeah….. Yes, that feels so good.”  

 

“Tell me what you’re imagining Hunts…” She pumped her hand up and down quickly, her free hand rubbing across his hips, “Tell me how good it feels.”

 

“You feel so good. I wish that was your mouth” Hunter struggles “I want to feel your lips wrapped around my cock. Your mouth is so hot and wet…”

 

Faith dips her head down, slipping his tip past her lips and into her mouth. Hunter presses his hips up in appreciation, diving his cock deep in her mouth.

 

“Yeah Faith, Just like that. Your mouth is so tight around my cock. You feel so good.” He moans, her fingers stroking the bottom of his shaft quickly.  “I love fucking your mouth, Faith.”

 

Hunters words were driving Faith crazy. Who knew under his polished exterior that was such a sexually charged man. It took every ounce of restraint in her to not mount him right there. But she wanted to taste him. She bobbed her head enthusiastically, the more he spoke, the harder she sucked him.

 

“You don’t know how long I’ve imagined fucking your mouth like this…Your lips are so soft. I’m so hard for you Faith.” He moans, You look so sexy right now Faith baby....”

 

Faith moans against his shaft, taking him down deep in her throat. At this rate she was going to lose it before him. She felt his hips tighten beneath her hands, he had to be close. She sucks him hard, shifting her gaze up at him, his eyes blazing into hers.

 

“Faith…” He growls throwing one of his hands in her hair.

 

Faith dropped her jaw, letting him hit the back of her throat as he shot his load with a loud groan. Faith held her ground, moaning in acceptance of his release. After a few hard thrusts, he relaxes his hips, his hand sliding from her hair with a loud sigh.

 

Faith releases him from her mouth, licking him clean as she sat up. She grabs the comforter from on top of the bed pulling it up over them, curling into his side. “Now that you’re more relaxed and I have your full attention” she smirks “What’s been going on Hunter. I’m not used to seeing you so unglued.”

Hunter wrapped an arm around her, rubbing his hand up and down her arm “I don’t know...I just feel like…” he shrugs “It’s hard to explain...you won’t understand”

“Enlighten me then…” Faith rests her chin on his chest, looking up at him.

Hunter runs a hand through her hair, tracing each of the individual curls with his fingertips. “I just don’t want to offend you...or hurt your feelings...or make you feel bad…”

“Hunts...if we’re gonna make this work, you need to be honest with me and I need to be honest with you.” Faith lays her head down, resting her cheek on his chest. “You won’t offend me if you’re being honest.”

“I just don’t understand what happened.” Hunter spoke sadly. “We had this great thing, the flirty, sexy, hard to get, fun relationship. You were trying so hard...and I kept baiting you… you wanted me. ME. You wanted to be with ME. And honestly Faith, I haven’t felt like that since Oliver came back into the picture...If you don’t want me, just tell me...but don’t string me along because you feel bad for me…”

Faith nods slowly. “I never...ever...EVER meant to make you feel like that.” She frowns, lacing her fingers with his. “Hunter, everything that I felt for you...that I FEEL for you…nothing has changed. You’re still the smart, funny, mysterious, sexy man that I’ve been drawn to for the last few years. I’ll be honest, having Oliver around has been...Distracting. I was in love with him...but Hunter that was a long time ago. Oliver and I have a history...but that doesn’t mean that anything between us has changed.”

“Things have changed, Faith….You look at him, the way you used to look at me…”

Faith sticks out her bottom lip, pressing her self up on her elbows “Hunts...My relationship with you...in my opinion...is stronger than its ever been. I love being with you. I love spending time with you. You make me laugh, and smile, and you make me feel beautiful, and cherished, and WANTED. If you didn’t make me feel these things, my decision would be so much easier.” Faith bent down pressing a lingering kiss against his lips. “I love being with you, Hunter. Please don’t try to compare our relationship to my relationship with Oliver.”

****  
  


“It’s not that I’m comparing them, Faith… I just need to know what I’m up against. Moreno isn’t right for you and I’m not giving up on us.”

Faith sighs, lowering her head to his shoulder, draping an arm around him. “Do me a favor… please just focus on US? You two have to stop fighting...I can’t take any more of it.”

Hunter nods “Don’t worry about that Faith… We’ll figure it out. Just get some sleep” he wraps his arm around her protectively.

****  
  


*******

Shayna opens the door to the patio area taking a deep breath of the warm salt air. “This is absolutely beautiful.” She pops her sunglasses over her eyes looking at Faith as she steps outside next to her, beach bag in hand.

Faith pulls off her flip flops, digging her toes in the sand “You have no idea, how much I need this today…” She pads slowly through the sand, looking for the perfect spot above the surf.

“It’s so warm, I can’t wait to tan. Excuse me,” Shayna calls to the man at the small stand. “Can you bring us two chairs over to that spot.” she points to Faith. “Thanks. Do you see any of the boys down here?” Shayna walks to Faith as they wait for their chairs to be brought over.

Faith scans the beach “I dont think theyre back from practice yet…” she drops her stuff to the sand, pulling her wrap from around her shoulders.

“I wonder if JP talked to Oliver and Hunter,” Shayna purses her lips. “That’s gotta be an interesting conversation.”

“I told Ollie last night that Hunter was coming over to talk once we got checked in….he wasn’t happy, but he didn’t fight me about it either…” Faith sighs, digging out her oil with a smirk. “This is going to be harder than I thought…”

Shayna takes her black tank top off putting it in her bag taking her oil out, catching Faith’s smirk. “And that face is for….”

“Well...Hunts was really taking things hard. I’ve never seen him so upset Shay…” Faith frowns oiling herself up. “So I tried to get him to relax...I gave him a little massage….” she raises her eyebrows innocently. “No big...enormous….huge….deal or anything…” she bites her lip.

Shayna cracks up laughing dropping back to the lounge. “Big enormous huge deal eh?” she wiggles her eyebrows at her. “Really? Makes sense.”

Faith flops back on the chair dramatically “My god, yes… We didn't have sex or anything, but one thing lead to another… and things went down.” She pauses with a sheepish smile, “literally”.

“Well then, that calls for drinks,” Shanya sticks the flag in the sand signaling for a server. “Next topic of conversation… who’s better.” Shanya laughs as she finishes massaging her tanning oil in, wiping her hands on her towel.

Faith grins putting her sunglasses over her eyes, her cheeks turning pink “It’s so hard to compare them though. Oliver is just….” she curls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them “Oliver was always the dominant one, I guess you could say? He was always in charge...but recently, he’s been very...accommodating?” a sloppy grin spreading across her face “he literally knows how to make my toes curl, Shayna” She fans herself with a chuckle.

“Mmm, dominant. Gotcha. Yes, hi, two frozen daiquiris. You ok with strawberry Faith?” Shayna greets the server as she approaches their chairs.

“Strawberry is perfect” Faith smiles at the server “But Hunter” she turns to face Shayna “Hunter has the talk…”

“Who would have figured the smaller of the two would be the more dominant one.” Shayna chuckles adjusting her shorts, laying back on the chair.

“They’re so different… it’s not making this any easier…” Faith pouts “I don’t know how I’m supposed to choose between them.”

“I have no idea what to tell you… I guess…. keep up the research?” Shayna turns to Faith smiling. “Keep up the research…”

Faith chuckles “I mean...as much as I love uh...researching...I don’t want to just keep screwing around with them both. I want a relationship...I want romance...marriage...kids….” Faith babbles on.

“Don’t we all? I’d like that as well, but we’re still young. Might as well enjoy it now…”

Faith nods “I enjoy it… don’t get me wrong. I just...maybe I’m just missing something?” she shrugs.

Shanya’s phone sings from her bag below her chair. She sits up grabbing around her bag as “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” blares. She answers it just before the song ends. “Hey Marina! Yeah we are at the beachfront. Go past the front desk in the lobby, take the double doors out to the patio and straight out on the beach. You’ll see us. See you in a minute.” Shayna hangs up dropping her phone back in her bag. “Marina and Izabella are here.”

“Yay!!” Faith sits up, looking back towards the walkway “God I haven’t seen them in forever! I can’t wait!!”

Marina and Izabella walk across the sand signaling for two more chairs.

Faith jumps up, giving them both big hugs “You made it!!” she grins.

Shayna hugs them after Faith, “It’s been forever... “

“Look who came down to see us… sick of the rain of Seattle ladies?” Marina laughs thanking the kid who dragged their chairs over. “Miss you both so much!”

“It’s not bad with the rain really. It’s bearable.” Shayna scoffs.

Faith lays back down “It’s really not bad… I love it there” she smiles “You get used to it.”

“Anything new that we need to know about. Gossip? Oliver’s back,” Izzy smirks placing her sunglasses on as she sits back on the chair.

“Ollie’s back? I didn’t notice….” Faith chuckles

Shayna coughs into her drink with a laugh. “Yeah, honestly who would have noticed.”

“We must have missed something..,” Marina frowns looking between the two girls.

As if on cue, the boys stroll down the beach, Oliver at the head of the pack. He bends down placing a kiss on Faith’s cheek “Hi Beautiful” he smiles, nodding to Shayna “Shay…” he looks at the other two “Ladies” he flashes them a smile. Faith sits up in her chair, allowing him to sit behind her, laying back against him.

The girls gawk at the gesture with wide eyes. “Hey…” they reply simultaneously.

Tristan drops to the bottom of Shayna’s chair with a grin as he pats her legs. She pulls them up slipping one on either side of him so he can sit between them leaning back on her knees. “Ladies,” he drawls as he pulls his sunglasses from his bathing suit pocket.

Logan darts down the beach dropping a towel at their chairs as he continues on towards the water, diving in headfirst.  Casey drops his towel as well heading off down the beach, London following seconds later.

Gavin follows up the end of the group holding out his towel to Shayna, “I’m not an animal, can I leave this here?” He receives a nod from Shayna dropping it to her bag and taking off down to the water.   
  


“Yes of course Gavin. Honestly, some of them you can’t take them anywhere…” Shayna laughs shaking her head. “You going in?” she asks leaning up placing her hand on Tristan’s shoulder.

“Yeah, looks like fun. I’ll be back…” he takes his sunglasses off, dropping them to her bag as he stands up taking off his tank top. He tosses it at Shayna with a smirk as he walks off to the water.

Faith whistles “Nice abs, Deni” she smirks. He turns to her and winks with a slight smirk.

“I guess we were asking the wrong person…. Shayna… What’s up with that?” Marina nods in the direction of Tristan as he walks off down the sand.

“What ever do you mean?” Shayna leans back placing her hands behind her head.

“Shayna and Tristan have been hitting it harder and faster than Pesek in his glory days” Faith smirks, making kissy noises.

Shanya glares at Faith, “And like someone else here…. you know what. Never mind.”

Oliver chuckles “Faithy be nice...I’m sure she could say a few choice words about you…” He kisses her cheek, his hands subconsciously tracing up and down her legs.

“Sorryyyyyyyyy” Faith rolls her eyes.

“Obviously we are missing a lot in Seattle,” Izabella grins wiggling her eyebrows.

“We always miss everything. Sometimes I wish we didn’t have to move down here. We honestly miss you all…” Marina pouts.

Tristan strolls back from the water up to the group, soaking wet, skin glistening in the sun as he shakes his hair out above Shayna.

“What the hell… Tristan!” she laughs holding her hands up trying to protect herself.

“The water is nice,” he grins. “Wanna go for a swim with me?”

“I wasn’t exactly planning on it,” Shayna frowns looking up at him, taking his towel to dry her legs off. “Just really here for the tan. Maybe later?”

He looks at Oliver, no words exchanged but a nod. Oliver grins back. Tristan leans over picking up Shayna from the chair.

“No, no… how did I not see this coming… NO… Tristan no… come on…” Shayna yells trying to grip the chair as Tristan lifts her over his shoulder. “Wait, wait.. not my glasses! Not my glasses.” Tristan puts his hand out to take her glasses, dropping them to the chair before taking off down the sand, Shayna still pleading with him. The boys in the water are cheering and whistling from beyond the break as Tristan walks into the water lifting Shayna slightly, both of them dropping into a wave.  

“Oh Shit…” Faith pushes herself forward scrambling to get up from the chair.

“This is going to get interesting,” Marina laughs from her chair, Izabelle sips her drink watching clearly amused.

“Faith, where are you going?” Oliver calls out watching Faith hide behind Shayna’s chair. “Do you honestly think I would just haul you over my shoulder and drag you out there like that?” he smiles sweetly at her.

“YES” Faith steps back “Don’t give me that smile…I know that smile...and I don’t trust it”

“I would NEVER do something like that to you” Oliver grins.

Faith eyes him, peeking over the top of the chair.

“I would” Hunter whispers in her ear as he wraps his arms around her from behind, hauling her up in front of him.

“HUNTER” Faith slaps at his hands “PUT ME DOWN!”

“Nope” He grins heading for the water, literally throwing her into a huge wave.

Faith pops up, hair matted to her face, glasses soaked, gasping from the chill in the water “YOU...are SO dead.” Faith turns towards the beach “YOU TOO OLIVER.”

Shayna laughs clinging to Tristan’s back as they swim closer. “Fancy meeting you out here….”

“Ugh I hate you guys” Faith hops a wave, smoothing her hair back off her face

Tristan gives Hunter a nod “So um...did you and Ollie plan to do that...together?”

“Kinda...Saw you take off with Shayna, I was coming down the beach, he gave me a look...it worked” Hunter shrugs with a grin.

Shayna raises an eyebrow of confusion to Hunter “Together though?”

Hunter nods “Well… I don’t know if I should be telling you this...but JP came down to practice this morning and really laid into Moreno and me.” He ducks under a wave, shaking his head once he reemerges. “Basically, he knows everything and he’s pissed…” He turns to Faith “He told us if we couldn’t get along than we weren’t needed in Seattle…”

Faith’s jaw drops “He-....he said that?” she looked at Shayna with wide eyes.

“After JP left, Oliver and I sat down and had a talk. I don’t like that he’s dating you. He doesn’t like that I’m dating you. But we both want you to be happy...and if this is what makes you happy, we will make it work for as long as we have to….” Hunter slides a hand around her under the water “Just don’t make me wait forever” he smiles at her.

Shayna smiles, clapping her hands over Tristan’s head, her legs still wrapped around his waist, “Good I’m happy you guys worked it out. I don’t have to kill anyone!”

“I’m glad I won’t get speared with a stiletto…” Hunter smiles.

“Still though, you hurt her…. the shoes will come out. I promise that…” she smirks, wrapping her arms around Tristan’s shoulders.

“Shayna….” Faith chuckles, “That’s so unnecessary.”

“I’ll just take her over here then….” Tristan laughs dropping lower in the water. Shayna scrambles higher on his back.

“No, don’t you…. oh Jesus…” Shayna’s cut off as they drop under the water.

Faith shivers in the water turning to Hunter, “Are you done throwing me in the waves… I’m freezing out here.”

Hunter nods “We can go back up if you want… the water is kind of cold.” He rubs her shoulders with a grin “But you have to admit… you didn’t see that one coming”

Faith shook her head “You two never seem to stop surprising me…” she ruffled his soaking wet hair, swimming towards the shore.

“We are heading back in…” Shayna appears swimming past them, Tristan behind her.

“Us too…” Faith nods “Too cold out here for me” She quickly makes her way up the beach, shivering as she searches for a towel.

Oliver walks down the beach towards Faith, “Looking for this?” He holds the towel open, wrapping his arms around her rubbing her shoulders.

“Thank you” Faith smiles, wrapping herself snugly in the towel.

Oliver pulls a second towel off his shoulder, tossing it over Faith to Hunter, who catches it and nods.

“Thanks man.” Hunter pats himself down, wrapping the towel around his waist.

Tristan leans close to Shayna as they sit on the lounge chair together “Something about this feels particularly creepy…”

“I was just thinking the same thing. It’s either going to get really weird or…. yeah really weird.” She pulls the towel around herself tighter, leaning back into him.

“It’ll be fun to watch no doubt,” Tristan chuckles kissing her cheek.

“You guys know how to keep it interesting, I can say that.” Marina laughs, sipping on her drink looking over at Shayna.

Shayna shrugs, “I don’t know, this isn’t every day stuff. Things just got a little more hectic when Oliver showed up.”

“And you two?” Izabella muses pointing at Shayna and Tristan.

Tristan smiles with a shrug “Happy...We’re happy...I don’t know if we have a label for it yet? I just like where things are right now I guess.”

Shayna nods putting her sunglasses back on, giving a small shrug. “Yeah… happy,” she rolls her eyes.

Faith sticks out her bottom lip at her “Titles are over-rated”. She gives Tristan a glare.

“Well, I’m going up to take a shower,” Shayna sits up sliding out from Tristan’s arms. “Might as well clean up before dinner. Marina, Izabella, see you guys at the game tomorrow?” she nods picking up her bag and flip flops.

“Yeah, sounds good!” Marina smiles.

“Good. Later then. Faith, just uh, stop by later? We can talk dinner outfits?” Shayna forces a smile.

Faith nods with a smile “I’ll bring some options over!” Knowing their convo has nothing to do with clothes. “Give me like an hour?”

“Sounds good,” Shayna turns walking off to the patio walkway.

Faith makes sure Shayna is out of earshot before turning to glare at Tristan. “SERIOUSLY, TRISTAN?” She hisses giving him a dirty look.

“Uh oh…” Hunter takes a step back.

“What?” Tristan shrugs looking at Faith.

“Really though? ‘We’re happy’” she mimics him “I don’t know… did GIRLFRIEND ever cross your mind?” Faith asks flabbergasted.

“We haven’t had that conversation…. yet. I don’t know. I don’t….” he looks down at his hands. “I don’t want to ruin anything. I didn’t think it was that serious yet.”

Faith blinks at him “.................”

“Tristan, it is serious. I suggest locking that down and don’t let her get away,” Hunter chimes in shaking his head as he plants a hand on Faith’s shoulder holding her in the chair. “Otherwise you might be getting the shoe up your ass… just saying.” he nods down at Faith.

Tristan wrings his hands together, his head hanging, staring at the sand. “I just feel like this is new for us still kinda, and didn’t know if that talk is too soon for us right now.”

Faith shakes her head “You ever wonder why Shayna never wears your sweatshirt in public, Tristan? Because she doesn’t want to embarrass you. Because she feels like she should be sneaking around. Because she doesn’t want to put YOU in an awkward position. Because YOU haven’t asked her to be YOUR girlfriend.” Faith huffs “WHY ARE YOU ALL SO DENSE?!” Faith bends down grabbing her bag and her shoes “I’m going to shower and do damage control. Girls, text me? We’ll get together later!” she smiles at Hunter and Oliver “Boys…..And Tristan? Ask her…” She smacks his shoulder playfully before turning to head up the beach.

******

Faith jumped out of the shower, grabbing her phone which had been dinging the entire time she was in the shower.

**Tristan (3:12pm):** _I know you are right, but I didn’t want to be too aggressive._

**Tristan (3:13pm):** _Do you think Shayna is mad?_

**Tristan (3:13pm):** _:(_

**Tristan (3:14pm):** _I still do not know how you people think._

**Tristan (3:15pm):** _Girls, I mean._

**Tristan (3:16pm):** _You are very confusing...Always full of surprises, especially when I think I am doing the right things. Always wrong!_

**Tristan (3:16pm):** _How can I make her happy?_

**Tristan (3:18pm):** _Will you help me? Please?_

Faith giggles reading Tristan’s texts, flopping down on her bed.

**Faith (3:25pm): _Oh Deni, Deni, Deni._**

**Faith (3:27pm): _You’re adorable, yet clueless._**

**Faith (3:28pm): _Romance her, Tristan. All girls love romance. Do something special. Go somewhere nice. Buy her flowers. Give her something special to show her you were thinking about her. Do something that you know she likes._**

**Faith (3:30pm):** _**Think outside the box.**_

**Tristan (3:32pm):** _Will you help me, Faith? I am apparently not a good boyfriend. :(_

**Faith (3:33pm): _I have to go see Shayna now...But meet me in the lobby at 4:15 sharp. I’ll give you one hour, then I have to get ready… Bring your A-Game, Tristan._**

**Tristan (3:36pm):** _THANK YOU._

Faith shakes her head chuckling, throwing on shorts and a tank top. She throws a towel in her hair and grabs her keycard. Slipping her flipflops on Faith walks out in the hallway, going to the next door down, knocking loudly.

Shayna flings the door open dramatically, a pout across her face.

“Shayna” Faith frowns “Don’t…”

“I know, I know….I just… I don’t know” Shayna sighs.

Faith plops down on her bed “Shayna you know Tristan’s crazy about you.”

“I know he is. But, I just want him to admit to everyone else that he’s crazy about me. He’s very private. But I just feel like he’s hiding me… if that even makes sense?” Shayna shrugs “I dont know. I dont even make sense. I’m just sad.”

“Shay… he’s a boy. You know how dumb they are” Faith smiles “If it makes you feel any better, I called him on his shit and he feel’s really bad… It certainly got the wheels spinning… Tristan doesn’t want you to be upset Shayna, he wants to make you happy. He’s a good guy”

Shayna flops down next to her “I know he is,” she says gently. “Maybe I’m just being selfish” She looks over at Faith “I just want to be with him...title or no title.”

Faiths eyes widen “Ooohhhh….. already?”

“What?”

“THAT” Faith points to her face “You’re in love with him!”

“WHAT! Don’t be ridiculous” Shayna’s face burns bright red as she quickly gets up from the mattress.

“AHHHH-HA! You are!! You can’t even look at me” Faith grins pointing at her “Holy Shit, Shayna!”

“You know I’ve always liked him, superficially I guess. Just the last like two weeks though…. It’s been fast and my feelings prior might have taken over some, but…. I don’t know. I enjoy being with him Faith.”

“Its not a bad thing, Shay” Faith smiles “I’m just...I’m normally the one with the uncontrollable feelings...I’ve never seen you like this though. It makes me really happy!”

“He texted me that he wants to have dinner tonight. So…. what do I wear?” Shayna asks looking at her suitcase.

“Black Dolce dress… that’s not even a question!” Faith chuckles “With the dangly sparkly earrings that I love!”

“Ohhh, the Dolce corset dress. That’s a good one….” she walks to the closet pulling a sleek black dress out holding it up. “Mmm, good one. I should go down to the spa and have my hair done no? And the earrings…. somewhere…”

“Yes! Go to the spa.” Faith smiles “I have some work to do...plus I still need to figure out what I’m doing tonight. I’m surprised no one has texted me… I feel single” she smirks.

“Ha, single. Says the one with not one but two prospects,” Shayna laughs pulling the hotel book from the desk. “I’ll just get a blow out and maybe a massage. Should be fine. Can’t convince you to come can I?”

“As tempting as it is… I’ve got a few things I absolutely need to do tonight.” Faith pouts “But I really really want a massage now… After the one we had the other day I’m feeling the withdrawals” she chuckles.

Shayna pouts, “Fine. I’ll go by myself. Thanks for trying to talk to Tristan. I guess whatever happens, happens. Maybe we all can meet up later for drinks?”

Faith nods “Shayna, of course I’m going to talk to Tristan. You’re my best friend. He’s going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated… Or I’m going to kick him in the balls with my golf shoes… And maybe we'll meet up for drinks? I don’t even know if I'm going out or if I’m just going to order room service and eat in my jacuzzi tub!” Faith grins excitedly.

“Alright then. I’ll text you and let you know either way. I’m gonna head down to the spa now,” Shayna smiles grabbing her wristlet.

“Text me pictures for hair!” Faith smiles following her out of the room.

*******

Shayna checks her hair in the mirror in her bedroom making sure her curls and volume were still in tact from getting dressed. She gives an extra spray of hairspray as she checks the back of her black dress. Nodding in confidence she grabs her phone taking a quick selfie in the mirror to send to Faith of her full outfit.

**Shayna (7:32pm):** _Yeahhhhhh, looking hot!_

**Shayna (7:32pm):** * picture of herself in her black dress *

**Faith (7:33pm): _Oww Owww! If Tristan doesn’t ask you to be his girlfriend, I’m next in line!_**

**Shayna (7:34pm):** _Awww thanks boo! :-*_

**Faith (7:34pm): _Have fun tonight!! PS: Hair = HOT._**

Shayna laughs as she puts her phone into her small clutch purse along with her ID. Checking one more time in the mirror, she heads out to the elevators. She presses the call button waiting for the elevators to arrive, looking at her reflection in the polished brass doors of the elevator. She smiles to herself as the doors chime, opening as she steps on, pressing the button for the lobby. Seconds later the doors open, she walks out to the main area of the lobby looking for Tristan.

Tristan’s jaw drops as he spots her stepping off the elevator. He swallows hard walking towards her. “Shayna…” he speaks softly.

“Tristan….” Shayna smiles accepting his hand as she walks to him. She leans up kissing his lips softly. “You look nice.”

“You’re...Shayna” He looks her up and down “Wow.” Tristan swallows the lump in his throat. “You look incredible.”

Shayna blushes, “Thanks. So, what are we up to this evening?”

“You’ll see” Tristan places a kiss on her cheek “Come with me…” he slides an arm around her back.

“Alright then….” Shayna let’s him lead her out the patio doors, around the pool to a cabana closest to the beach.

Tristan pulls out her chair for her “I figured maybe we could do something a little...less formal? I hope you don’t mind eating outside?” He smiles at her.

“Of course, this is really pretty,” Shayna slides on the chair as he pushes her in.

Tristan sits down across from her, pulling a bottle of champagne out of the bucket next to the table “I figured we couldn’t go wrong with Champagne?” he smiles, popping the cork and pouring their flutes.

“Uh, sure. That’s fine,” she accepts the glass he hands her.

“It’s just for the point… You’ll get a beer or vodka shortly,” he rolls his eyes at her.

“Oh, alright…. I was going to say….” Shayna laughs embarrassed. “Ok then, for the sake of the moment…” she holds up her glass. “Ultra fancy…. what are we toasting?”

Tristan shifts uncomfortably in his seat, clearing his throat “I um… Shayna...I’m sorry about what I said earlier today.. I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of your friends. I was just caught off guard.”

“I wasn’t embarrassed. A little upset, but not embarrassed. Marina and Izz don’t know what is going on. Faith well… yeah. I was just as off guard as you…. I guess I thought maybe, maybe I’m thinking of this as something more than it is, which is fine. I’ll take it back a notch if you want. I’m ok with that,” she keeps her face neutral as she looks at him.

Tristan’s face fell listening to hear speak. “Shayna…” he speaks sadly. “That’s not what I want. I don’t want that at all..” He places his hand on the table, reaching out for her.

“I don’t want to rush anything Tristan. I don’t want to force you into anything. I wouldn’t want that for me or anyone else….” she looks at the place setting in front of her. “You shouldn’t be in anything that you don’t feel comfortable in….” She glances at his hand on the table, hesitating slightly before she places her hand in his.

“I’ve never had real feelings for anyone before,” he sighs. “That sounds horrible I know. But, I told you, I never let anyone in, and that’s true. Until you…” he grumbles, subconsciously rubbing his thumb over her hand. “I don’t know what it is about you. Why I had to say something that day suite level. Why I’m so… drawn in.”

Shayna sits there taking in his words, “You’re honest. I love that. I just don’t…. I enjoy our time together. I love being with you… and our….yanno, extracurricular activities.” Shayna blushes. “I just don’t want to assume or force you to put a title on this.”

“Shayna,” Tristan smiles “You should know by now I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.” He raises her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it gently. “And that includes all of this with you. I want to spend time with you. I want to make you happy. I love being with you too. There is no force involved...well..” his lips turn up into a grin “sometimes…”

“You love being with me?” Shayna smirks, laughing slightly, stopping when he looks at her with a serious face. “Sorry…. I just….”

“I love everything about you, Shayna.”

Shayna giggles, her free hand playing with her napkin. “God, this is so weird for me… and I’m sorry I’m laughing. Ugh, Tristan…. I love everything about you, too. “

“I um… I got you something. It’s okay if you don’t like it..I know I’m not the best person to be buying you things…” Tristan fumbles over his words, gently letting go of her hand. He reaches into his jacket pocket pulling out a small Tiffany blue box with a perfectly tied white bow. “You look beautiful in everything you wear, so, I wanted to get you something that you could wear if you wanted to be dressed up fancy, or if you just wanted to wear a tanktop....” Tristan passes her the box with a nervous smile.

Shayna looks at the little box with wide eyes, completely speechless. She takes the box to her, untying the ribbon looking back and forth from the box to Tristan. Inside, she pulls the small blue bag, loosening the strings, tilting the bag when a silver necklace falls out in her palm, a diamond key on a delicate silver chain. Her eyes start to tear as she holds the necklace up, “Tristan…. Tristan… this is absolutely beautiful. You didn’t have to do this….”

“It’s an infinity key...The reason for the key is obviously I want you to have the key to my heart” he smiles a little “It is kinda cheesy, but I guess that’s what boyfriends are supposed to do...and it has a pink diamond in the middle because the pink reminded me of how cute you look when you get all flustered. Your cheeks always tell me when you get worked up...and the infinity part to me felt like it was perfect for you, Shayna. I never want to be without you in my heart. I don’t want this, whatever we decide ‘this’ is, to end…” he trails off “I’m rambling…”

“This is… has to be the single most sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. This means so much Tristan. Thank you… really… thank you so much. It’s so beautiful!” Shayna undoes the clasp, putting it around her neck to secure it. She fixes it so it sits straight, looking up at Tristan with a smile as she holds the key in her fingers. She wipes at her eyes, “Thank you Tristan. If I could move in this dress I would honestly throw myself at you right now…” she tries to laugh.

Tristan chuckles “I’m guessing you like it?”

“YESSSSS, god yes,” Shayna grins. “Yes!”

“Shayna….” Tristan smiles at her, giving her the eyes “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes Tristan…. that is if you want to be my boyfriend…” Shayna raises an eyebrow at him with a smirk.

Tristan leans forward across the table giving her a kiss “I guess I could put up with you for a while…” he smiles at her.

****  
  



	11. My heart, your heart, tied up like two ships....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D'awwww, Tristan confesses he wants a relationship with Shayna. Faith is keeping busy.... ;) 
> 
> Just a little night time activity going on....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "Stronger" by One Direction. 
> 
> Trying to get posting more often... haha. TRYING! 
> 
> If anyone reads... kudos or feedback is always welcome.   
> Thanks for reading! We truly appreciate it!

**Chapter 11**

 

“I figured we can watch the sunset while we wait for dinner to come,” Tristan stands holding his hand out to Shayna. She takes it sliding off the chair to stand with him. He interlocks his fingers with hers as he leads her through the open doors of the cabana to the small patio on the oceanfront side. “I know this fancy type of a dinner isn’t your thing, but I felt this was worth it for the conversation we just had. I ordered you a steak and potatoes just so it’s not as fancy.” He laughs leading her to edge of the brickwork on the patio right before the sand.

 

Shayna reaches down taking her shoes off, placing them on the chair as she walks around the small concrete wall to the sand sitting down on it. “A man after my own heart, Tiffanys jewelry and a steak? What did I do to deserve you Tristan Deniau?” she leans into him once he sits down next to her, wrapping his arm around her as they look out to the ocean, the sun setting on the horizon.

 

“And you’re worth it all and more…” he tightens his arm around her kissing her forehead. They watch the sun go down, the colors changing in the sky as they listen to the soft sounds of the waves crashing on the shore. Shayna takes a deep breath, sighing contently as she exhales. “Is everything ok?” Tristan asks looking down at her.

 

“Perfect, just absolutely perfect. Thank you, thank you for everything… again.”

 

“You can stop thanking me,” Tristan laughs. There’s a soft knock on the doors behind them. A waiter nods to Tristan alerting him that their dinner has arrived. “Dinner time,” he stands, putting his hand out to help Shayna stand. “This dress is absolutely breathtaking on you. I don’t know how you are moving in it, but none the less, it looks spectacular on you.”

 

“Aww thanks,” Shayna laughs as she dusts her backside off, picking up her shoes from the chair. “I don’t know how I’m moving in it either, this is a corset after all.”

 

They walk back into the cabana, their dinner laid out for them on the table. Candles are lit around the room casting a soft glow in the now darker room.

 

“Candles, Tristan? Who knew you were such a big softy…” Shayna muses as she slips on to the chair.

 

“Just don’t tell anyone,” he whispers in her ear as he pushes her chair in, winking at her as he takes his seat across from her.

 

*****

 

Much to her surprise, Faith hasn’t heard from Oliver or Hunter at all since leaving the beach. After helping Tristan pick out the perfect token of his affection for Shayna, Faith decides to use the alone time to her advantage, taking the night off to catch up on some of her work. It wasn’t like her to let work pile up – especially while out on the road. She spends the early part of the evening sorting through her backlogged files. She snacks on a few items off the room-service menu and pops open a bottle of wine.  With a heavy-handed pour, Faith fills up her glass, grabs her cell phone and heads out on to her balcony. She sits, propping her feet up on the ledge and dialing her mom.

 

Faith hears the receiver click on the other line “Hello, Faith?”

 

“Hi Mom.” Faith smiles

 

“Hi Sweetie!  Oh it’s so good to hear your voice!” Her mother, Lynn, cheers through the phone

 

“I know, me too. I’m sorry I haven’t called… I’ve been pretty busy with work and stuff. It’s not an excuse, but…you know” Faith shrugs “How is everything? How are you and dad?”

 

“Oh honey, its okay! We know how busy you can get – you’re always working! I hope you’re taking a little bit of time for yourself! You can’t let that hockey team take over your life!” Lynn spoke seriously “Dad and I are doing well! We were just talking the other day about coming out to Seattle to see you.” Obviously smiling “We miss you, Faithy”

 

“Aw mom” Faith smiles “I miss you too! So much! I would love for you to come visit…and don’t worry. I have plenty of time for my personal life.” She took a long sip of her wine “Too much time, some days.”

 

“Well as long as you’re taking care of yourself, that’s all that’s important! Any progress with Hunter? I still think you’re trying too hard, Faithy…If he can’t see what a wonderful girl you are, he doesn’t deserve you.” Lynn sighed “You ARE wonderful Faith, you know that right?”

 

Faith chuckles, shaking her head, “Actually, Mom, yes…There has been progress as you called it. I’ve been out with Hunter a few times. We’re just..eh…taking our time, getting to know each other.” She grins, “Hunter is just as wonderful as I imagined.”

 

“OH Sweetheart that’s such great news!”  Lynn gushes “I’m so glad you’ve found someone to make you happy…”

 

“Actually…We’re not exclusive…we’re just taking things slow. Enjoying being with each other, you know?” Faith says tentatively.

 

“Oh Faith….” Lynn sighs “If he can’t be faithful to you…”

 

“Oh god, No no! It’s nothing like that… It’s actually me…” Faith blurts out, cutting her off. After a few moments of silence, she sighs into the phone “I’m actually seeing two people right now…They both know about each other. They’re both wonderful men. I feel strongly about them both, and I’m working through things to figure it all out.”

 

“But Faith…How can-“

 

“MOM…. I know, it’s not ideal for any of us…but I really feel strongly about them both…and they make me happy.” Faith smiles “Oliver’s in love with me… Hunter treats me like gold… I just…I need to figure things out.”

 

“Oliver?” Lynn pipes up. “Oliver Moreno?”

 

“Yes…” Faith smiles a bit, “Don’t tell dad...He’ll freak out. But yeah, Ollie and I went out a few times when he was in Seattle a few years ago, nothing serious, but..we’re kind of...picking up where we left off. I really like him mom… like...A LOT.”

 

Lynn sighs “Honey….I just… I know you’re a smart girl. I know you wouldn’t do anything if you didn’t have everyone’s best intentions at heart…Just be fair to them, that’s all.”

 

“Oh, Mom… I am. Like I said, they both know about each other. I spend time with each of them. I’m honest with them both…I’m just very overwhelmed with everything right now and need to sort things out.” Faith smiles “I’m not sneaking around or anything…”

 

“Well then, I hope you find what you’re looking for, sweetie” Lynn smiles “Can we meet them when we’re in town?”

 

Faith’s eyes grow wide, “Oh….oh…I uh… I mean… I guess if you want to…I uh..”

 

“EXCELLENT!!” Lynn grins “I’ll talk to dad about getting out there soon! But I have to go honey, we’re going out for ice cream and then we’re playing Bingo with Tina and Frank”

 

Faith chuckles “Ok mom, let me know when you plan on coming out…good luck at Bingo”

 

“Love you bunches baby” Lynn makes kissy noises in the phone

 

“I love you too mom…” Faith ends the call dropping the phone on the little table. She looks out over the water. Her stomach subconsciously grumbles, thinking about ice cream. Faith slides on some flip-flips grabbing her wristlet and heads out in search of some ice cream.

 

*****

 

“Faith?” Gavin lightly pats her shoulder at the small stand.

 

“Hi Gavs!” Faith smiles, giving him a hug “Fancy meeting you here!” She points to the ice cream counter.

 

Gavin chuckles “Yeah well… Just one of those days I guess. Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be out sailing or something equally as fancy with one of your boyfriends?” He wiggles his eyebrows at her.

 

Faith smirks giving him a shove “Oh shut up. My BOYFRIENDS haven’t called me all day, so tonight, I am boyfriendless, and apparently, you’re taking me on an ice cream date” She ruffles his hair.

 

The two make their way to the counter, placing their order and getting their ice cream.

 

“Soooo, what are you doing tonight? Why aren’t you out with the guys or something?” Faith shovels her birthday cake ice cream in her mouth while walking around the resort.

 

“Nah, they weren’t really doing anything. We worked out on the beach earlier, but… most everyone is just laying low tonight… I was gonna call Ella after I went back upstairs…” Gavin trails off nonchalantly.

 

“OOOOOOOOOOH Ellllaaaaaaa” Faith grins “You two are so cute it’s disgusting, you know that? Why haven’t you guys hooked up yet?”

 

Gavin shrugs “We talk all the time, and I see her out and about, but we just….haven’t? I’m always busy, she’s so busy with school… timing isn’t right.”

 

“Gavs…I may not be the best person to give relationship advice, but…do me a favor. If you feel something, MAKE the time. Even if it’s just an hour, or a few minutes… Don’t let something that means the world to you slip away…because you never know if you’ll get that chance back”

 

Gavin smiles “So what you’re saying is that Ollie’s in the lead…”

 

Faith blushes, “What I’m saying is… don’t let go of something that’s important to you…”

 

He nods “I know Faithy… I like her…A LOT…Maybe I’ll go see her at school when we get home.”

 

“Now you’re thinking Gavs! And on that note, I think I’m gonna head back upstairs, maybe go lounge in the hot tub or something...” Faith gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek “And Gavs? She would love if you visited her…” She smiles heading upstairs.

 

******

  
  


After dinner Shayna and Tristan walk hand in hand along the beach, the moonlight reflecting off the waves, the stars sparkling above them.

 

“So, do you wanna come up to my room and do typical cheesy boyfriend girlfriend activities like watch a movie with some snacks?” Shayna asks, swinging their hands between them. “I feel like that is so backwards given what we’ve already done, but yanno…”

 

“Sure, I’d love to do that. I can’t make any promises that I will keep my hands to myself though so I hope your parents aren’t home….” Tristan overdramatically sighs, followed by a laugh unable to keep serious. “I’ll just have to grab something to change into at my room.”

 

“That’s fine, we can head up now?” Shayna asks, giggling slightly as they start heading in the direction of the walkway back to the hotel patio.

 

*******

 

Faith throws a towel down on one of the pool chairs, kicking off her flip flops and stepping out of her wrap. She steps into the hot tub slipping under the bubbling water, letting her head rest on the side of the tub, thankful that there was no one around. She closes her eyes, the stress of traveling has been catching up to her and the heat of the tub felt heavenly on her tense muscles.

 

“Faith?” Tristan’s voice calls out from the main walkway. Faith sits up watching as Tristan and Shayna walk up to the hot tub.

 

“Are you… by yourself?” Shayna asks looking around.

 

Faith nods “Yeah...no one called me. So I took care of some work that I’ve been neglecting, I called my mom back, ate a giant cup of ice cream, and now… I am relaxing” she smiles happily, sinking back down into the water.

 

“Well, enjoy that then. We’re heading up to watch a movie,” Shayna smiles squeezing Tristan’s hand. “Have fun…”  

 

Faith lifts one of her hands waving to them “Be good, kids” she chuckles, winking to Tristan as if to say good work.

 

Tristan nods smiling as they walk off down the path back to the hotel.

 

*****

 

“I’ll be up to your room shortly,” Tristan kisses Shayna just before he steps out of the elevator on his floor. Shayna blushes, letting go of his hand.

 

Tristan smiles to himself as he walks down the hallway to his room, slipping the keycard in the door. Gavin is sitting on his bed talking on his phone, typing away on his laptop. He waves as Tristan walks in continuing on uninterrupted. Tristan gets undressed quickly, making sure to hang his suit up in the closet. He tosses on a pair of sweats, his grey v-neck tee as he slips on his sneakers, waving at Gavin.

 

“Yeah, yeah I get it. Tell Shayna I said hi,” Gavin grins holding out his phone. “Practice is at 10. I’ll see you in the morning?”

 

“Yup.” Tristan nods, grabbing his sweatshirt from his bag, tossing it over his head. He grabs his keycard and phone as he heads out the door.

 

“Oh hey Tristan,” Oliver calls out standing across the hall, hand on his door. “What are you up to?”

 

“Movie with Shayna. What are you doing? Why are you not with Faith? You know what… she’s down in the hot tub closest to the beach. You should head down there, she’s by herself,” Tristan grins. “I’m sure she could use the company.”

 

“You think so? I wanted to give her a little space this afternoon after the beach. The hot tub? Sounds like a good idea. Thanks!” Oliver smirks as he opens his door nodding at Tristan.

 

“No problem….” Tristan waves as he walks down the hall past Oliver. “Enjoy.”

 

********

 

The doors close as the elevator continues on, Shayna waits two seconds, letting out a loud squeal of joy, bouncing on her toes. She grabs the key on her neck with a huge grin as she looks down at it. The elevator chimes for her floor as the doors open, Shayna steps out striding to her room absolutely overjoyed at everything that took place at dinner. It still feels like a dream. She slips the keycard into her door, flipping on the lights in her room as she drops her clutch to the small coffee table walking off to the bedroom. She stops, steps back to the table taking her phone out and snapping a quick selfie with the necklace in view. She makes a mental note to share it with Faith later already knowing she probably had a hand in picking it out.

 

She heads into the bedroom unhooking the back of her dress as she walks in, sliding it off to place it back on the hanger in the closet. Digging around her suitcase she pulls out a pair of yoga pants, a tee and Tristan’s sweatshirt smiling to herself as she holds the soft material to her.

 

Shayna is finishing washing her face when there’s a knock at the door. She dries her face with the small towel she laid out as she grabs her hair tie heading out to the door, slipping her glasses back on. She finishes securing her hair in a messy bun as she opens the door smiling at Tristan. He’s wearing a pair of black sweats and his Scarlet sweatshirt, matching her almost to a T.

 

“Look at us, barely official for what two hours and we are already in matching outfits,” Shayna laughs stepping to the side so Tristan can walk in the room.

 

“It still looks better on your though,” he walks in placing a kiss on her forehead. “I just have to do something really quick…. where is the phone in this huge room?”

 

Shanya looks at him confused, “The phone? On the side table there. Why? I know we were gonna order snacks…”

 

“Yeah, we are, but I wanted to do something first.” he walks over grabbing the phone, pushing the button for room service. “Yes, hi can you do me favor? Is it possible to send a bottle of champagne out to the hot tub closest to the beachfront? You can? Awesome, just put a note on it, “Thanks, enjoy. From Tristan” and if you can charge it to room 813. Thanks so much.”

 

“You’re sending Faith a bottle of champagne to enjoy by herself?”

 

“I ran into Oliver in the hallway on the way up here. I sent him outside to see her and sent the bottle as a thank you…. for stuff,” he smirks as he settles onto the couch.

 

Shayna chuckles giving him a sly smile, touching her necklace. “Stuff? What kind of… stuff?”  

 

“Obviously you know…. I did pick out the necklace… she just… pointed me in the right direction,” he smiles.

 

“Good that you sent that bottle then,” Shayna nods sitting on the couch next to Tristan.

 

Tristan wraps an arm around her, pulling her into his side. “I like this boyfriend girlfriend thing.”

 

“So do I,” Shayna giggles pulling her phone out of the pocket in the sweatshirt. “I think we should take a picture. I’d like a new lock screen… even though I love this one…”

 

Tristan pulls her closer to him, resting his cheek on the side of her head “Do you want me to say cheese?” he smirks watching her as she unlocks her phone, opening up the camera.

 

Shayna pouts at him as she holds up her phone up facing them, “Seriously…”

 

Tristan leans down pressing his lips against her cheek. Shayna grins snapping a few pictures.

 

“Can you send me that?” Tristan asks.

 

“If you just give me your phone I can just AirDrop it to you…” Shayna holds out her hand to him. “Gimme, I’ll do it.”

 

“I um, just text it… that’s fine.” Tristan shifts on the couch slightly. “Just text me. It’s easier.”

 

“Come on…. Oh… Oh… what is on your phone? Come on…” she pokes at his side trying to reach to take his phone. She manages to wiggle her hand in his sweatshirt pocket taking his phone hopping off the couch skipping over to the balcony door with a satisfied grin. She clicks the home button revealing a picture of her laying on a lounge chair in a black tank that reads “Talk Hockey To Me”, a pair of black shorts, sunglasses, messy ponytail and a big grin from the last trip to Vegas she and Faith took just before the season started. “When the hell….. where did you get this? Wait…. Did Faith send you this?” her mouth hangs open looking between the screen and Tristan on the couch.

 

“Maybe she did…” he shrugs trying to stay neutral, not smiling. “Maybe I saw it on her phone and made her send me it because you looked so beautiful and happy. Maybe because I don’t have any pictures of you. Other than maybe the one of you tied up….” he mutters looking away. “I wasn’t going to steal a picture…..”

 

“What are you trying to say?” she laughs as she clicks away on her phone. “Just unlock yours and I’ll just text it. I’m feeling ice cream so I’ll call for some stuff and we can watch our movie.”

 

“Sounds good,” Tristan takes his phone back as Shayna grabs the desk phone calling for their ice cream. “Strawberry! Strawberry!” he waves at her receiving a nod back. He looks down at the picture of her on his phone smiling, deciding if he should switch it to the one they took moments ago.

 

“Ok, so ice cream is ordered. We can watch tv out here or in the room where it’s comfy. If we are staying out here I’m grabbing the blankets.” Shayna announces as she walks back over.

 

"I'd say bed, more space to lounge. This couch is not comfortable," Tristan replies giving a little bounce on the couch for extra emphasis. "Too hard."

 

"Sounds good. We can wait here til the ice cream comes up and then head in the room. For now we can check the movies," Shayna drops back down on the couch sliding into Tristan's side as he holds his arm out for her. They sit there for a few quiet minutes, his fingers gently tracing lazy circles on the back of her neck as she scrolls through the channels on the TV.

 

"This is nice but... I can't handle the quiet," Shayna sighs, climbing up to sit on his lap. "Too quiet..."

 

"If you didn't move, I was going to," Tristan grins pulling her to him, their lips crashing together, their tongue tangling on impact. His hand tangles in her hair, dislodging her ponytail as he tugs her head back giving him access to her neck. Shayna rolls her head back, closing her eyes, letting Tristan kiss and nip along her jaw and down her neck as her fingers grip his sweatshirt hood trying to pull him closer. He keeps on hand locked in her hair, the other traveling lower across her back down to the bottom of her hoodie, his long slender fingers slipping below and under her tee. She shifts her hips slightly on his lap as his fingers graze across the warm skin of her stomach.

 

A soft knock at the door startles Shayna causing her to look over at the entryway. “Tristan…. Tristan, the ice cream is here…” she whispers gently caressing the back of his head. He makes a grumbling noise of defeat, his lips making a loud smacking sound as he backs away from her collarbone, his fingers leaving her skin slipping back out from under her hoodie. She kisses him quickly on the lips as she slides off his lap, dragging her hips a little slower than necessary earning her a slap on the ass as she stands. She gives him a smile as she walks to the door, swinging her hips with each step.

 

“You’re so funny,” Tristan calls out from the couch as she answers the door. The server wheels the table in handing Shayna the bill to sign. She quickly signs it handing it back hastily ushering the man back out the door, locking it as it closes.

 

Taking a quick inventory of the tabletop, she smiles at Tristan placing her hands on the table, “Ready for some ice cream?” she asks pushing the table to the bedroom doorway. He nods at her, reaching down to pull his sneakers off tossing them to the side as he stands, quickly shutting the tv and lights, walking to the room behind her.

 

Shayna wheels the table to the foot of the bed pushing it close enough for them to reach. She walks around to the side, grabbing the remote hopping on to the bed grabbing pillows to place at the foot of the bed. She rolls onto her stomach placing a pillow under her to prop herself up.

 

Looking over she watches as Tristan pulls his hoodie over his head, the hem of his tee underneath sliding up with it revealing his stomach. He gives her a grin catching her watching him.

 

“I’m sorry, I can’t help myself,” Shayna laughs dropping her face to the pillow, her arms extending out in front of her. He ruffles her ponytail laughing at her as he slides on to the bed next to her, grabbing a pillow for himself, rolling to his stomach mimicking her position. “So, I got your strawberry, but I like candy with my vanilla because I’m plain so… I just don’t know what you like. I got a little of everything,” she grabs the pint of strawberry handing it to him with a spoon.

 

“That’s fine, I’ll just pick. Nothing kinda goes with strawberry…” he shrugs taking the items from her.

 

“This movie looks funny, alright with this?”

 

“Sure.” Tristan nods ripping the lid off his ice cream, digging his spoon in. “Good enough,” he mumbles with a mouthful. Shayna laughs at him, neatly taking the lid off her pint, strategically spooning some from the top. “Oh look at you, nice and neat.”

 

She shrugs at him, “Whatever…. can’t just jam it in my mouth now like some people.”

 

“You know what you can shov---- did you just put your fingers in my ice cream?” Tristan gapes at her looking slightly disgusted as Shayna smiles licking her finger.

 

“Strawberry tastes good. Good choice,” she grins as she starts cracking up. “Oh please…. don’t look offended. You’re just mad you didn’t do it first… and I swear to god if you say I would put my fingers else where I’m going dump my ice cream down your…. YOU KNOW WHAT… no. I’m done.” she drops her spoon to the table dramatically, smushing her face into the pillow, her face flushing.

 

“You set yourself up for that one.”

 

She turns to look at him, her cheek resting against the pillow, ice cream pint still in her hand, “I did….” Shaking her head with a sigh, she grabs the spoon from the table continuing to eat her ice cream.

 

“You are way too cute for your own good,” Tristan chuckles looking over at her.

 

They continue for a bit in silence, occasionally laughing at the movie. Shayna puts the lid on her pint, dropping it back in the bucket of ice, sitting up stretching out her back as she swings her legs around in front of her. She scoots back to the head of the bed laying back into a more comfortable position. Tristan finishes the last bit of ice cream, dropping the empty container to the table as he stands up. He grabs the table, pulling it out to the living room area leaving it for the morning.

 

He enters the room switching off the lamp, grabbing Shayna’s shorts off her bag he holds them up to her.

 

“Oooh, yeah good call,” she holds her hand up catching them. She shimmies out of her yoga pants tossing them at Tristan with a smirk as she pulls the shorts on.

 

Tristan slides his sweatpants off, discarding them on the floor where they land, adjusting his boxers as he climbs back into the bed pulling at the comforter getting Shayna to move under it. They settle together in the middle of the bed, limbs tangled together, Shayna laying her head on Tristan’s chest, his arm comfortably draped around her.

 

“I definitely like this better….” Shayna sighs contently, snuggling in as close as she can get to Tristan.

 

“So do I,” he whispers, kissing the top of her head.

 

******

 

Oliver walks quietly down the path, his eyes focusing on Faith in the large in-ground jacuzzi. Her head was laid back against the rim, hair pulled atop her head in a loose ponytail. Her eyes pressed together gently, arms lightly holding onto the sides of the spa. Oliver couldn't help but smile, little moments like this reminded him of all of the things he loved about Faith. She was a relatively low-key girl, not into bells and whistles, and very easy to please. He set his stuff down next to hers on the lounge chair before approaching the jacuzzi, crouching down next to the water. "I don't suppose you would want some company..."

 

Faiths lips curl up into a smile at the sound of his voice, before slowly opening her eyes. "Are you stalking me, Mr. Moreno?"

 

Oliver chuckles, "You've found me out, Miss McCallium."

 

"Get in here" Faith giggles as she pulls her arms in, sitting up from the edge.

 

Oliver drops his feet into the water sinking down next to her. Faith slides over next to him placing a kiss on his cheek. "How'd you find me? Did Shayna call you?"

 

"Nope." Oliver slides his arms around her protectively, "but Tristan may have mentioned you were down here..." He smiles lacing their fingers together under the water.  "Why are you all alone?"

 

Faith rested her head back against his shoulder, "Well...I didn't hear from you or Hunter after the beach so I thought maybe you guys were doing something as a group, and Shay had dinner plans with Deni, so I just laid low tonight. Ordered some room service, caught up on a lot of work, called my mom, ate a mountain of ice cream and ended up here."

 

Oliver presses a kiss to the side of her head "You had ice cream without me...I feel like I've missed out."

 

Faith chuckles and turns her head slightly to look up at him from the corner of her eye "I'm a girl. Anytime you want ice cream, you just call me."

 

"I'll keep that in mind," Oliver smiles, his fingertips tracing lightly on her forearms. "How's your mom?"

 

Faith sighs letting out a small laugh "Oh you know. She's my mom. They miss me terribly and want to come to Seattle.... and she wants to meet you and Hunter...the usual parental invasion of privacy."

 

A wide smile spreads across Oliver's face, "I can't wait to meet your parents...when are they coming?"

 

Faith chuckles "Easy tiger, I don't know details yet. But you know she's going to grill you right? Be prepared with a background check, list of references, plans for the future and retirement fund stats."

 

Oliver laughs loudly nuzzling his nose in her neck covering it with little kisses. "Well Mama McCallium can rest assured that my background check is clear, she’s more than welcome to call anyone in my phone…well…maybe anyone other than Kopecky.” He smirks “The future? I plan on marrying you and raising a handful of the cutest little babies in the world and my retirement fund is just fine."

 

Faith’s heart skips a beat listening to Oliver's visions for their future together. He always knew the right things to say to give her butterflies She turns sideways to face him, biting her lip, trying to control the grin that was taking over her face.

 

Oliver slides a hand across her cheek, pulling Faith to him for a kiss.

 

"..Ahem" a voice interrupts from the path way, causing them both to jump. "I'll just leave this here for you" the gentleman smiles at them, setting down a tray complete with a bowl of fresh strawberries, two flutes and a large bottle of champagne sticking out of an ice bucket, a small white card tacked to the side.

 

"Ollie...." Faith smiles.

 

"I swear that was not planned….but the timing is impeccable" he chuckles.

 

Faith leans across him grabbing the card, her eyes scanning the paper with a smile. "Deni" she grins shaking her head.

 

"I always liked that kid..." Oliver gave her a quick peck while working at the foil atop the bottle. "Tell Shayna I approve."

 

"I'm sure she knows that already" Faith smiles grabbing the glasses. "But I agree. I like Tristan a lot, I think he's good for her."

 

"I feel like we should toast something..." Oliver pops the cork, pouring each of them a glass.

 

"Hmmm" Faith thinks passing him a flute with a sly smile. "Let me think."

 

"Well" he smiles setting the bottle back in the ice bucket.  "How about to new beginnings? God knows when I left...I deserved every second of you hating me. When I came back, I didn't deserve a second chance. I didn't listen to you when you told me not to fight with Hunter.  Faith, I can't for the life of me figure out why... but for some reason...You let me back in. You opened your heart to me again....Baby, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm so in love with you Faith McCallium and I will spend every day making sure you know that.”

 

Faith goes to say something but gets cut off before she can speak. “And I know that you’re going through a lot right now. I don’t expect you to say anything back… I just wanted you to know where I stand.” Oliver smiles smoothing her hair. “You’ve been very straightforward with me and I just wanted to be honest with you…”

 

“You’re really something special, Mr. Moreno,” a smile spreads across Faith’s face as she clinks their glasses together “To our new beginning…”  Faith locks eyes with him as they slip their champagne.

 

Oliver reaches back to the tray, grabbing a strawberry, tracing it gently along Faith’s lips. She opens her mouth to take a bite and he pulls back with a smile.

 

“Always such a tease” Faith chuckles. One thing that Faith loved about Oliver is that he could always turn the simplest of things into a fun and sexy game.

 

“Not always...” Oliver smirks, pressing the berry back to her lips, allowing her to take a bite this time.

 

Faith, not one to pass on the fun, takes the berry and the tips of his fingers between her lips, moaning against his hand. She finds his eyes while she flicks her tongue over the end of the berry, taking care not to dislodge it from his grip. Withdrawing slowly, she nips at the end, just enough to break the skin of the strawberry letting the red juice spread over her lips, before taking the berry and his fingers back into her mouth.

 

Oliver watches her intently as she wraps her mouth around his fingers. His mouth hangs open, as she continues her pursuit on his hands. He presses the berry between her lips once more, before pulling it out completely. Faith runs her tongue slowly over her top lip, before sucking the bottom lip into her mouth, removing the sticky reddish tint.

 

“Talk about a tease…” Oliver drops the strawberry back on the tray before pulling Faith down in his lap in front of him, her back facing him. He takes a nip at her neck, following his teeth with lips. “You know how I feel about that sort of thing.” He slides his hands up her body, cupping her breasts through her bathing suit

 

“Mmmhmmm, you love it and you know it.” Faith smiles, rolling her neck to the side giving him more access. “You do know we’re in public right?” She arches her back, pressing her chest into his hands and her ass into his hips.

 

“Ask me if I care” Oliver licks the side of her neck up to her ear.  “But I guess that means you better keep it down.” He whispers with a smile, grazing his teeth over the sensitive skin.

 

“As tempting as it is to fuck you right here in the hot tub…” Faith swallows hard, reaching behind her putting a hand on the back of his head. “If you keep doing that….I may not be able to say no to you.”

 

Oliver smirks, gently tilting her head to the other side, running his tongue along her neck “Who said I was gonna fuck you in here?” He drops his hands under the water, rubbing along the inside of her thighs, separating her legs.

 

Faith pushes back against his growing erection. She looks over her shoulder at him, her eyes dilated, a thin rim of blue blazing into his.

 

Oliver chuckles, leaning forward, pressing his lips against hers as he slides his hand under the thin material of her bathingsuit. He lets his fingers graze over the sensitive skin, mumbling softly against her lips. “I can’t wait to watch you squirm.”

 

Oliver dips two fingers inside of her irritatingly slow, easing into her gently. Faith’s body pushes forward in acceptance, a low moan escaping her lips. Knowing that the water makes traditional penetration uncomfortable, Oliver curves his fingers upward, repeatedly stroking her from within. Faith drops her head back against his shoulder pressing her hips against his hand rhythmically. Oliver adds a third finger with ease, his thumb tracing small circles around her clit.

 

Faiths mouth falls open with a gasp, her head pushing back into his shoulder. “Please Ollie...Don’t start what you can't finish..”

 

“Oh you’ll finish, Faith” Oliver whispers in her ear, his free hand massaging her inner thigh in sync with his fingers. “Twice if you’re a good girl”.

 

Faith bit her lip as a lustful growl escaped her mouth. Her hands subconsciously found their way to her breasts, massaging the sensitive skin, her nipples hard, poking upward. Oliver bent down, his teeth sucking hard on the soft flesh of her neck, watching her like a hawk. “You’re so sexy when you’re turned on Faith”. He rubs his free palm hard over her pelvic bone, pushing his fingers up to meet it, creating more pressure for Faith. “I love feeling your body react to my touch”.

 

“God Ollie...fuck me...please” Faith moans loudly, squirming beneath him, her body tight, throbbing from head to toe.

 

“Shhhh, someone will hear you.” Oliver chuckles, smirking against her skin. “You can have me all night baby…” He presses his teeth into her neck slowly, leaving a series of tiny red bite marks on her skin as he pushes his fingers deeper inside her, taunting and teasing her, rubbing her in all the right places. ”But you know I’m gonna make you work for it…”

 

“Please…Please baby….” Faith whimpers rocking her hips hard against his hand, unable to handle much more.

 

Oliver presses down hard on her clit, increasing the speed of his thrusts. “Attagirl Faithy, come on”

 

“Ollie….Mmmm...Oh god…Right there...” Faith’s moans get louder as she nears her release.

 

Oliver sits upright, quickly pressing his mouth against hers to stifle her cries as she twitches and spasms beneath him. Her body clamping down tightly on his hand, her hips involuntarily darting forward. Faith writhes and shakes, her body tingling from head to toe.

 

Once Faith has come down from her high, Oliver slowly withdraws his hand from inside her, gently rubbing her legs. Breathing heavily, Faith trembles under his touch. “Jesus Christ, you’re going to kill me one of these days…”

 

A mischievous grin spreads across Oliver’s face. “I’m not done with you yet…” He snakes his arms around her, pulling her from his lap.

 

“Oliver…” Faith peers over her shoulder, giving him a look “What are you doing…”

 

“Trust me” He presses her down onto the bench, directly over the jacuzzi jet, using his body to hold her in place.

 

“You sonofabitch” Faith clenches her jaw as the water pulses hard against her still sensitive clit.

 

“I told you I’d finish you twice” He cups her face kissing her hard, his tongue lightly massaging hers.

 

Faith clings to him as her body quickly reacts to the strong stream of water. Oliver holds her in place not letting her move from the jet. She gasps sharply as wave after wave of pleasure ripples through her body once again.

 

After seeing and hearing Faith’s reaction, he knew that she had reached her max. He stood quickly, pulling her up with him, tenderly cradling her still-trembling body to his. “You know you’re going to pay for that” Faith smirks, slowly beginning to regain her composure, adjusting her bathing suit, and smoothing over her hair.

 

“It’ll be worth it,” he pressed his lips to hers once more “There’s nothing better than the sight of you coming undone, baby” his hands gently rubbing over her shoulders. “Come on...it’s late, we should get to bed immediately.” A cheeky smile stamped across his face.

 

“Yeah...we should...I hear karma is a bitch” Faith squeezes his cock forcefully before turning and hopping out of the hot tub to grab her things.

 

******


	12. Don't make me wait, cause I need to know....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends in San Diego.... Interesting plane conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from Hardwell's "Follow Me" . Such a good song! :D 
> 
> Thanks again to everyone reading!

**Chapter 12**

 

Shayna walks into the small restaurant downstairs in the hotel, meeting Faith for an early  breakfast before heading off to the arena. Faith waves her over to the table, a full cup of tea  already waiting for her.

“Well well well, Don’t you look well rested” Faith chuckles as she sips on her latte. “Nice necklace.”  

“Awww, gee thanks. And yes, I am well rested. I had such a wonderful night,” Shayna sighs with a grin sitting down across from Faith, taking the the cup of tea in her hands. “And you?”

“Well...after your BOYFRIEND” Faith emphasised with a smirk “blew my cover, Oliver and I had a good night...a really good night.” She smiles pressing her lips to the mug “All.god.damn.night.”

Shayna chuckles slowly sipping her tea, “That sounds fun. We kept it basic. After we saw you we had ice cream, watched a movie and went to sleep. Oddly it was so backwards, but I don’t care. It was so nice. Tristan told me he saw Oliver on the way to my room….”

“Awww Shay!” Faith smiles, genuinely happy for her best friend. “You two are so cute I can't stand it! And yeah, Ollie said he ran into Tristan, who told him I was downstairs...AND THEN!” Faith put her mug down dramatically, talking with her hands, “Do you know what Tristan did?!”

“What did my amazing boyfriend do?” Shayna smiles trying to look surprised.

“He had ROOM SERVICE deliver a huge bottle of Champagne and a tray of strawberries to the Hot Tub. He’s such a shit, Shayna, he did NOT have to do that!” Faith shook her head chuckling “But seriously, that was so thoughtful of him… Remind me to thank him later.”

“Sure will! So Oliver…. yeah…. look at you two, spending more time together.” Shayna raises an eyebrow to Faith. “About that…. how’s that working out?”

Faith smiles a little, “Everything about my relationship with Oliver is just… it’s so easy. I love being around him...he’s just infectious!” She makes a face, running her finger along the rim of her coffee mug “But. That being said… it also makes things with Hunter a lot more complicated.”

“What do you mean complicated?” Shayna asks.

“I’ve spent a ton of time with Oliver. We have a history, so we aren’t going through that awkward ‘dating’ phase where you’re trying to get comfortable, open up and build a relationship. Hunts and I are struggling with that.” Faith sighs, tucking her hair behind her ears, “The other night, when I was trying to talk to him? He told me not to string him along if I didn’t really want him, and that the fun relationship that we used to have disappeared when Ollie came back into the picture.” She frowned “He said I don’t look at him the way I used to…and a big part of me is terrified that he’s right...”

“He’s right on the stringing along part. Not that you are…. I’m not saying that. But I mean to the outside world it looks like you and Oliver just fell together perfectly fine, no problems or issues just two pieces connecting. Almost like you just dropped Hunter like a hot potato.” Shayna laughs at her own joke. “Hot potato…. Anyway. I know you think you don’t look at him differently but you kinda do. There’s not that…. that sparkle? That intensity you have when you look at Oliver,” she shrugs at Faith.

Faith nods a little, her eyes sad, “I don’t know how to get it back…”

“A better question is… do you want it back?” Shayna looks up to ask for another cup of tea noticing Hunter walking into the restaurant. “Speaking of…. there’s Hunter now.”

Faith blinks her eyes a few times, trying to absorb the excess moisture before it spills over. She looks over her shoulder, catching his attention with a smile. “Good Morning, handsome.”

“Shayna, can I speak to Faith alone?” Hunter mutters, eyes blazing at Faith.

“Well, good morning to you too,” Shayna scoffs at Hunter, putting two singles on the table. “For my tea of course… I guess I’ll just I don’t know, go look at the fountain or something.” Shayna stands, making a face at Hunter’s back. She holds her phone up to Faith mimicking for her to call her as she walks out to the lobby.

“Hunts...sit” Faith points to the chair, concern on her face “What’s going on? Is everything ok?”

“This is going to sound horrible no matter how I put this out on the table so here goes. I was out last night for a run on the beach to clear my head. Yesterday was a lot, I can’t say I’ve ever had my professional career be put on the line due to ‘relationship’ problems,” he starts, his face completely serious as he clutches his phone in his hands. “I was on my way back to the hotel up the main path to the patio area and I thought I heard you.”

Faith wrings her hands together, avoiding his eyes. She exhales slowly, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Hunter..”

“I stopped for a moment, looking around thinking maybe you were sitting on the beach or something. I didn’t text you or anything because I figured you needed some space or that if you wanted to talk about anything you would come to me.” He looks around to the surrounding tables looking for any teammates. Satisfied that no one was close to their table he turns back to her. “I saw you….. and Oliver,” his fingers grip his phone a little tighter. “I saw what you were doing.”

Faith took a shaky breath, biting her bottom lip. Of all the people to be on the beach, it had to be Hunter. She shook her head slowly, “Hunter, I never meant for any of that to happen...I was alone… I just… It just happened…”

Hunter holds up his hand to stop her, “It’s fine, I get it. I’m not a teenager, you guys are allowed to hook up. I’m ok with that. I just…” he lowers his voice, “I was a little too ok with it. Watching you… come apart at the hands of another man, it was a huge turn on for me.”

Faith lifts her eyes from her hands slowly, her heart beating so hard she can feel it in her throat. “You…..you watched us?”

“I… I did.” A blush creeps up Hunter’s cheeks as he looks down at his phone in his large hands. “I’m sorry if that offends you, but I had to tell you.”

“I’m not offended...I just...I don’t understand why you would put yourself through that.” Faith scans his face, looking for any reaction from him.

“I heard you moan. Would you not stop if you heard the person you were attracted to sound like that? Then, just…. you. Watching you, obviously not for him, but you in such bliss. I wished it was me doing all that to you, but watching was just as….. arousing.”

Faith’s breath catches in her throat, her body hot. “You liked watching me with Ollie?...Listening to us…” The thought of someone watching was one of Faith’s biggest fantasies.

Hunter slowly nods, his eyes fixated on his phone.

Faith follows his stare, her eyes growing wide. “Oh Hunts...Did...Did you…” She gently reaches out, pulling his phone from his hands.

"I must've watched it 100 times..." Hunter sighs softly, half embarrassed, half turned on. “Watching you touch yourself, hearing you moaning...Faith I’ve never been so turned on.”

“Unlock it…” Faith turns the phone towards him.

“I’m sorry, Faith… I don’t know why I reacted the way I did…”Hunter mumbles quickly, “I’ll delete it, I promise… I just…”

“Unlock the phone, Hunter” Faith presses the issue.

Hunter enters the key code across the screen, unlocking the phone. With a few more taps, Faith populated the video, pressing play.

The video was slow to load, but comes alive quickly with the loud sounds of Faith moaning, “Please…Please baby….” echoing out from the phones speaker, causing her to jump, quickly lowering the sound, scanning the room quickly to see if anyone had overheard. Faith turns her attention back to the video, watching herself get pleasured by Oliver, Hunter waiting for her reaction intently. “Ollie….Mmmm...Oh god…Right there...” Faith’s moans got louder, her hands roaming her own body as the video progressed. Hunter’s ragged breathing could also easily be heard from behind the camera, no doubt he was enjoying what he saw. The clip ended shortly after Faith orgasmed for the first time. No doubt once was enough for Hunter.

One the video cuts off, Faith places the phone on the table face down. Her head was spinning, and her body aching. Faith looks up, meeting his eyes. “I wish I knew you were watching....”

“Faith, I’m so sorry…I cant ex-...I don’t know why I did that… I just... ” Hunter fumbles with his words, no doubt embarrassed.

“Hunter…” She places her hands on top of his, a small smile on her lips “I’m not mad...or embarrassed, or upset, disgusted, frustrated, or any of those things. I wish I knew you were watching, so I could’ve seen your face….I’ve always been...interested....in...creativity?” She raises an eyebrow. “I’ve never really discussed this kinda stuff before….Not even Shayna knows.”

Hunter’s eyes turn from remorse to desire listening to Faith speak. “Go on…”

“Knowing you were there...watching... listening...and enjoying it? God Hunts, I could lose it right here in my chair.” Faith bit her lip, sitting back in her seat, “Theres only one thing better than that…”

“What’s that?” He asks quickly.

“If you had joined us…” Faith said quietly, a pink flush filling her cheeks.

“Really? Because…. I would…..” Hunter whispers quietly taking his phone back off the table. “Maybe we shouldn’t have this conversation right now…. right here.” He looks around the room, none of his teammates are there, but he still seems nervous.

Faith nods in agreement “I think you’re right… maybe we should talk about this somewhere else. Plus, you guys have a game today, I have to be at the arena soon...we both need to just...focus on our work today” She nods again, trying to reassure herself.

Logan walks into the restaurant looking around, noticing Hunter sitting with Faith. He walks over waving “Yo, Hunter. Let’s go, bus is going to be leaving for the arena.”

Hunter nods to Logan giving him a minute signal, “We are going to talk about this. Maybe you should talk to Oliver before we continue? Or maybe the three of us can get together to talk about this if you would like to…. pursue it?”

Faith smiles a little “Just worry about the game and leave the rest to me.... and send me that video…”

Hunter nods as he stands from the table giving Faith a grin, “That’s fine, I’ll be here when you want me. We can discuss this together….

“Hunts, I always want you” Faith stands to give him a hug. “Don’t think otherwise…” She pushes up to her tip-toes to give him a kiss. “Good luck today.”

*****

Faith and Shayna walk through the arena, looking for their seats. JP told them they could have the night off from working to spend some time with their friends. Since they weren’t working, the girls were in casual clothes and not their usual business attire.

“You have no idea how nice it is to wear chucks instead of heels” Faith grins, walking down the corridor.

Shayna adjusts her Deniau jersey fixing the name plate on the back, “It is so awesome to be able to wear this without any judgement. And, SNEAKERS!” she holds up her foot showing off her Vans sneakers. “This is the best ever.”

“I’m sure it’s nice for you guys,” Marina scoffs looking at the two girls.

“Don’t get salty ok…..” Shayna sticks her tongue out, sitting back in her seat. “COME ON SCARLET!”

Marina pouts, “You would right now…. sitting with us?”

“You would do the same….” Shayna shrugs taking a sip of her beer. “Excuse me for cheering for my BOYFRIEND…..”

Faith sits down, tugging at the strings on her red Scarlet hoodie, “Can we just  have a fun, stress-free night? Please? I can’t take anymore surprises today!”

“Stress free?” Marina asks.

“What do you mean stress free?” Shayna asks looking at Faith. She receives a glaring look from Faith. “Oh oh ok. Soooo…..” she takes another gulp of her beer. “Anywho… go team.”  

The teams file out of the locker rooms for the National Anthem as the starting five for the home team is called out.

Faith pulls out her phone after the Anthem is finished, shooting a quick message to Shayna.

**Faith (7:26pm):** _We need to talk alone asap._

Stuffing her phone back in her pocket, Faith turns her attention back to the ice..

Shayna grabs her phone from her back pocket glancing at the message giving Faith a nod.

**Shayna (7:27pm): _When?_**

**Faith (7:28pm):** _Doesn’t matter...sooner rather than later. I’m going to burst soon.._

**Shanya (7:28pm): _Bar? It’s just up to the left of here. I mean…._**

Shanya waits for Faith to look at her after looking at her text message shaking her empty plastic cup.

“I’m gonna head up the bar to grab a refill before puck drop..” Faith stands, grabbing her wristlet. “Anyone want anything?”

“I‘m going to come with you….” Shayna stands holding her cup upside down. “Might as well.”

“We’re good…” Izabella smiles. “Thanks though.”

Marina nods watching the bench, “I”m good. Thanks.”

Shanya and Faith slide out of the seats up the stairs to the main concourse walking around to the main bar area of the arena taking two seats.

“So…. What’s the matter? I can tell something is going on… and you’re dying to tell me,” Shanya asks waiting for bartender to show up for them.

“I’ll fill you in with details later, but the very very short version? Hunter wants a Threesome” Faith picks at her nails.

Shayna drops the plastic cup she was holding in her hand to the bar top. “WHAT? …I need a slightly longer version…”

“Hunter was on the beach last night...he watched, and VIDEOED  Ollie and I hooking up in the hot tub, he got off on it, and would be down to have a threesome….” Faith mumbles in one breath. “I don’t even know what to do right now…”

Shayna stares at Faith wide-eyed. “Are you….. oh my god…. really? Really though?” Her voice getting higher the more she spoke.

Faith nods “Shayna...you don’t know how many times I imagined, dreamed, PRAYED...about something like this. But now that it’s a possibility, I’m shaking in my boots! AND how the hell would I even bring this up to Oliver?” She sighs running her hands through her hair, “Oh, by the way Ollie. Hunts’ saw you finger me in the hot tub, videoed it and got off on it a bunch of times... Lets all fuck!..... I don’t think so?!” Faith huffs exasperated.

“Well… that’s a situation I never would have thought we would have to deal with in our friendship… but… I mean…. Wow. How DO you bring that up? You can’t like… talk about that on the plane home….Unless you can? I mean, I can sit with Tristan if you want me to? And Ollie can’t really run away...we’re on a plane for christs sake! But...how are you going…. Jesus, that is going to be one crazy conversation…” Shayna shakes her head turning to the bar tender. “Yes, please, I’m having Molson, she’ll have Jack and Ginger...She needs a double please.” Shanya drops her credit card on the countertop. “We better chat fast and head back down. Besides the girls, I don’t want anyone to think we aren’t there….”

Faith shakes her head, “Shay...They don’t prepare you for having this kind of conversation when you’re growing up!” Faith gulps her drink, finishing over half the glass in just a few sips. “I don’t want to make things awkward with either of them, but god, having them both….” she bites her lip, “God help me…”

“Ok, the first period hasn't even started yet, take it easy...” Shayna takes Faith’s glass from her hand. “I wish I knew what to tell you...That’s going to be a conversation you need to have with Ollie. But I think you need to prepare yourself that it may not go the way you want it to. I know the thought of being tag-teamed by them is pretty high up on the bucket list for you...but just make sure that you’re ready for the let down”

Faith rests her head on the bartop. “I can’t take any more from these two, Shayna.”

“Come on, we need to go back to the girls...come on” Shayna tugs at her arm. “We’ll figure it all out tomorrow before we head home...I promise.” She smiles putting a supportive arm around Faith.

The girls head back down to Marina and Izabella a few minutes into the period. The first period is hard hitting with San Diego scoring a couple of quick goals putting the Scarlet down 2-0 heading into the second period. Hunter poke checks their winger on the rush, sending him away short handed. He fakes the goalie down and elevates the puck over his glove, cutting the deficit in half. Less than a minute later, Hunter deflects a shot from Kopecky at the point, tying the game at two.

“I still can’t stand Kopecky….” Marina scoffs after the PA announces the last goal.

“Still? Jesus, one prank a long time ago and you still haven’t forgiven him…” Shayna laughs.

“Never,” Marina sighs taking a sip of her beer.

Faith shakes her head with a smile, “Dude, I love Kopecky. He cracks me up! You need to get over it. It was a JOKE!”

Izabella shrugs, “I can understand being upset at the time, but don’t hold a grudge.”

“Man, remind me next time I see Christian to tell him to loosen you up!” Faith smirks, nudging Marina.

“Come on Deni!” Shayna yells watching Tristan go to the corner. “Just fucking hit them! Sorry you guys… I hate when we play each other.”

Izabella nods “It’s okay… you guys know theres no hard feelings.”

Faith jumps out of her seat “OH OH, GO LO...GO!” Jiri passes Logan the puck with a couple of minutes left in the third. He takes off down the ice towards the goal. He snaps a wrist shot at the top of the circle, ringing off the crossbar before dropping in behind their goalie, giving the Scarlet the lead of 3-2.

“YEAH LOGAN!” Shayna jumps up from her seat excitedly hugging Faith. “Yes!”

“Well it was nice to see you two. I guess we’ll see you in a few weeks when we come up to Seattle,” Marina sighs standing looking at Faith and Shayna.

“Are you leaving already?” Shayna asks. “There’s like 3 minutes.”

“Yeah, gotta get downstairs to meet the boys in the main room for post game dinner,” Izabella smiles as she reaches over to hug each of them. “We’ll see you guys! Safe travels back home.”

The girls exchange hugs and goodbyes, Izabella and Marina collect their belongings and take off up the stairs leaving Faith and Shayna behind.

“Thank god it’s unlikely we don’t have to get on that plane after a loss…” Faith sighs, “I can’t take it when those boys get pissy.”

“I would ask for a different flight home in all honesty.” Shayna nods in agreement.

“So um...are you sitting with Deni now that you’re ‘Official’ “ Faith makes air quotes, which a chuckle.

“Not unless you want me to? I don’t want to start any trouble with JP, there’s been enough as it is. Unless… you want to sit with someone different. Are you going to talk to Oliver?” Shayna wiggles her eyebrows at Faith.

Faith makes a face, “I don’t know Shay...this is stressing me out.”

“Listen, if you want to just feel out the situation, maybe warm him up to it, you should. That’s what you should do, pre-discussion him. Does that even make sense? Sit with him on the plane, I’ll sit with Deni and just talk to him.”

“What do you mean? I should...talk to him about fantasies?” She raises her eyebrows

“Yes! That’s a good one, warm him up to the idea. He’ll probably think you want to have sex in the plane bathroom but yanno… Or, oh god, you’ll probably say threesome and he’ll probably think I’m going to be the third or some shit.”

Faith chuckles, “Well...I’ll have to be careful with my approach, but ya know...I guess it wouldn’t hurt to know what he’s into...ugh what if he thinks I’m a freak, and never wants to talk to me again?” She panics, her eyes wide.

“Doubtful. Very doubtful. How do you know he’s not thinking it? Hunter was. And if all else fails there’s Hunter to fall back on?” Shayna laughs receiving a slap on the arm by Faith. “Yeah I know, that’s not how these things work.”

Faith rubs her furrowed brow, “I don’t know...but I guess there’s only one way to find out?”. The buzzer rings through the arena signaling the end of the game, Seattle defeating San Diego 3-2. “Well... I guess we should go meet JP to wrangle the children” Faith smiles standing from her seat.

********

“Are you sure you don’t mind sitting with Tristan?” Faith asks Shayna while stuffing her bag under the seat infront of her. “Because honestly, its not that important...I don’t need to talk to him tonight. Or ever…”

Shayna smirks “You’re not getting out of this one Faith. You guys have a pretty open line of communication. Just TALK to him. Explain what’s going on...It’ll be fine. Regardless of what he says, it’ll be FINE.”

“It’ll be awkward” Faith sighs, shifting uncomfortably.

“Faith. It’s not that big of a deal. Sit. Talk. Relax….I’m going to the back of the plane...iMessage me if you need me…” Shayna gives her a hug before walking down the aisle towards the rear of the plane.

The boys start funneling onto the plane, Faith anxiously waiting for Oliver to pass. A few minutes later she sees him come up the main aisle, jacket unbuttoned, tie loosened around his neck, bag resting on his shoulder. She couldn’t help but smile, her nerves dissipating. “Hey Moreno…looks like you missed a button there” she points to his jacket.

Oliver chuckles stopping next to her row of chairs, “What are you, the Fashion Police tonight?”

“Nah, but anything that gives me control of handcuffs doesn’t sound so bad” Faith smirks, pulling her laptop case off of the seat next to her, stuffing it in the pocket of the seat infront of her. “Sit with me?”

Oliver raises an eyebrow, “You think that’s a good idea?... I mean, I’d love to, but...I don’t want to start any problems…”

Faith shook her head, “No problems, Hunt’s knows, and JP won’t care as long as theres no drama”

Oliver nods throwing his bag up in the overhead bin before sitting down next to her, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Hi” he smiles adoringly at her.

Faith chuckles, “Hi babe.” She leans into his side, resting her head on his shoulder “Are you tired?”

“I guess a little, but I’m ok…” Oliver shrugs, sliding his arm around her. “Something on your mind?”

“Is it that obvious?” Faith looks up at him with a sheepish smile.

“Well… I can read you like a book Faith” He smiles giving her a squeeze. “You should know that by now. What’s going on?”

Faith sighs “Well….I just wanted to talk to you” she looks around to see if anyone was in earshot “...about fantasies…”

Oliver shifts in his seat to face her. “Fantasies?” a wide smile slowly spreading across his face.

“Fantasies” Faith nods, shoving him “NO, Not on the plane.” she chuckles.

“What about Fantasies?” He chuckles “Is this a trap?”

Faith shook her head, “No, its not a trap...I just… I’m curious about what goes on in your head. What is it that turns you on? What do you think about when I’m not there...What do you wish we would do?...”

Oliver sits for a moment, obviously in deep thought. “Well...I wasn’t expecting that” he chuckles. “Hmm… God, Faith, theres so many different things that I’d want to experience with you.”

“Like?” Faith raises an eyebrow.

“Well...I mean, you want my ultimate, no holds barred, if I could have anything in the world, no judgement….”

“Ollie…” Faith smiles. “I’m not judging….”

“I guess a combination of Denial, Exhibitionism, Dominance….maybe a little voyeurism?”

Faith’s ears perk up, “You’re going to have to do better than that….” she smiles.

“Well...Denial and Dominance, those are pretty self explanatory. I want you to beg me. I want you to accept and enjoy me being in charge. I want you to know that I’ll take care of you, but you need to trust me and enjoy the ride, even if it’s long. I know how to please you, Faith. I know what makes you tick... but sometimes you just get so ahead of yourself… I want you to trust me, I’ll never deny you completely Faith.”

Faith felt the heat flush to her cheeks, she should’ve asked him this a long time ago. “Okay….Exhibitionism? Voyeurism?”

“That’s where things get complicated.” Oliver shrugs, a smile spreading across his face. “I guess this kind of wraps into the Dominance...I want to know that I can have you when I want you, anywhere, regardless of where….and I want you to be able to do the same. For example, you said not on the plane. Well...why NOT on the plane?” He raises an eyebrow. “What people don’t know won’t kill them… and even if they DID know, who cares?  I want to be able to make you feel good. I want you to feel pleasure, even when I can’t be with you.”

“What did you have in mind?” Faith bit her lip, her eyes wide and dilated.

“Lots of things...but the one that excites me the most? Imagine having a little vibrator that you keep inside you all day...” He drew small circles in the palm of her hand. “Imagine waking up in the morning, getting dressed for the day, going to work, sitting in a meeting with JP, talking about important work things...and then that little vibrator starts buzzing. No warnings. Unable to stop it. Then, just as quick as it came, its gone.” He pulls his hand away from hers. “Then going back to your office...Walking past Shayna’s cubicle...Buzz” He grabs at her side, causing her to jump.

“Jesus” Faith gasps, swatting at him.

“All day...you’d never know what was coming...or how long it would last. Would it be a quick tease? Or would you have to excuse yourself…” His eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree, an excitement in his voice. “Knowing I could do that to you...from home, the locker room, from the next door down, or right in front of you…You could have all the other guys in front of you, and only you and I would know what’s happening.” He slowly ran his hand up her leg “Kinda like right now…”

Faith slaps his hand playfully with a smile, “Shame on you, this is hypothetical, and we are on an airplane with our boss and don’t even have a blanket.” she chuckles.

“WELL, If we’re talking hypothetical, I hypothetically wouldn’t mind seeing you bent over my sofa in my jersey and those black sparkly heels….”

“HYPOTHETICALLY, I wouldn’t mind that either…” Faith wiggles her eyebrows at him, giving him a nudge. “But you know my rule on Jerseys...every time I get a jersey, that person gets traded” She sticks out her bottom lip. “So I guess you can just settle for the sparkly heels.” She sneaks a quick peck, then gently rubs her lipgloss off him with a chuckle.

“Well what about you, Faithy? What kind of things do YOU fantasize about? What gets your heart pumping…” Oliver continues to gently run his hand up and own her leg affectionately.

“Well...mine’s a little more...personal?” Faith answers slowly, unsure how he will react.

“Meaning?”

“....meaning...I want to be fucked by two men at the same time…” Faith mumbles, embarrassed.

Oliver sits quietly  for a moment before replying. “This is about Hunter isn’t it…”

Faith takes a breath, trying to calm herself. “Actually, it’s something that I think every girl thinks about - but whether or not they admit it is another story. It was in my head long before any of this started with you and Hunter. But, honestly...yes.” She tucks some loose hair behind her ears, placing her hand on top of his “Ollie, I am by no means trying to pressure you into anything. It’s just my honest answer.”

He shakes his head, patting her leg, “I don’t feel pressured at all...but I am curious where all this is coming from.”

Faith nods, “This morning I was having breakfast with Shayna, you know, just catching up, talking about our respective nights. Hunter walked in and came over, and he was…well, I don’t want to say upset, because he wasn’t upset per-se, but you know what I mean, he needed to talk. So Shayna got up so we could talk and to make a long story short, which, I’m not very good at...He watched us last night...in the hot tub…and as I was sitting there listening to him confess all of this, I wanted to be upset. I wanted to be mad, I wanted to be embarrassed, frustrated...and I wasn’t...I was just...”

“Turned on…” Oliver finishes her sentence.

“YES.” Faith breathes. “God yes. I wish I knew he was watching...the thought of him getting off watching us. Jesus, Ollie, I could have seriously just lost it in the bistro ...and part of me really wants to do it again…” She made a face “You’re not saying anything…”

“I’m trying to imagine how I would feel watching you have sex with another man...especially one you have feelings towards.” Oliver answers honestly. “It’s not that I’m against it entirely… I just don’t know…”

“I’m not asking you to pick a time and a place, Olls. I’m just...trying to be honest with you. And the thought of two men who care about me, both focusing all their attention on me, and my pleasure is something that just makes my toes curl when I think about it” Faith smiles a little. “But at the same time, if you’re not comfortable with it, than its off the table...You’ve got your own toe-curling tactics” she gave him a wink.

Oliver chuckles, “How about this…. I won’t say no.”

“.........really?” Faith’s eyes grow wide with excitement.

“If it means that much to you...than, yeah...really…”

A wide smile creeps across her face as she tries to fight it back with little success. “How’d I get so lucky to get you back?”

“I ask myself that every day about you.” Oliver smiles, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Faith pulls out her phone, shooting Shayna a quick text.

**Faith (12:04am):** _JESUS. TAKE. THE. WHEEL._

She stuffs the phone back in her pocket quickly before snuggling back into Oliver’s side.

*******

Shayna makes her way back a few rows down the aisle looking for a seat after leaving Faith to her conversation with Oliver.

“Oh, going to sit back here with us today Shay?” Gavin calls out from the right side of the plane waving at her.

“Yeah, for this trip I am. Gotta let some business be handled up front,” Shayna smiles sliding into the row in front of him. She opens the overhead compartment above her, sliding her carry on in.

“Nice jersey, didn’t have to wear that back here though,” Casey coos from the opposite side.

“I had no time to take it off on the way here from the arena” Shayna rolls her eyes, pouting. “You’re all not going to make fun of me for wearing it now are you?” She looks down at the Scarlet’s crest debating on taking it off.

“No, they better not,” Tristan walks up the aisle, his bag in hand, glaring at his teammates.

Casey shrugs, “I would never. Slightly jealous is all. My girlfriend doesn’t even really like hockey. It’s a nice change to see one who does.”

Tristan grins as he stops at the seats where Shayna is standing with her back to him, his name and number splayed across her back.

She turns to look at him from over her shoulder, the corner of her mouth turned up in a mischievous grin, “Hey Deni.” He smiles at her taking his bag off his shoulder putting it in the overhead compartment next to hers.

“Shayna, are you sitting back here? I saw Oliver upfront.” Tristan traces the letters on Shayna’s back.

“I am, if you would like to sit with me. Otherwise I will just spread out here myself….” Shayna sits down moving the armrests so she can put her legs on the seats.

“I swear, there better not be any funny business up there, “ Gavin sits up leaning on the seat behind them.

Shayna starts laughing, she pats his arm on the seat, “No Gavin, there won’t be.”

Kopecky leans across the aisle with a smirk “Ruin all the fun, Gavin! You two just ignore him, do what makes your happy.” he slaps Tristan on the back with a wink.

Tristan’s face flushes as he takes the end seat picking up Shayna’s sneaker clad feet. “Nothing was going to go on….” he glances back at Gavin then over his shoulder to Kopecky.

“Nothing….” he looks at Shayna, the hint of a smirk lingering. She shrugs a shoulder at him. “Have you been drinking?”

“Maybe…” she looks at her phone trying not to smile. “Maybe a bit. I don’t have off game nights.”

“That make sense then. Would you honestly have…. let me?” Tristan looks at her, eyes blazing as he traces small circles on her ankles. She shrugs again at him. “Really?”

“What?” Shayna blinks at him, serious expression on her face. “I’m not drunk. Just maybe in the bag a little.” She grins.

“Alright then. Wait til we get home.” Tristan pats her foot.

“You guys won’t come to the apartment will you? I just want to sleep in my bed…” Gavin mutters from behind them.

“No, I’ll go to Shayna’s.” Tristan turns in his chair. “Calm yourself Gav, you can sleep soundly.”

“Thank you.” Gavin smiles putting his headphones over his ears.

They sit in silence as the plane takes off. Shayna looks up from her phone once the plane has settled in the air.

“So I wanted to ask what were your plans for Thanksgiving. I didn’t know if you had plans to go somewhere, but my mom insisted I invite you. Usually I bring Faith….”

“I would love that. I’m not going anywhere, it’s too short of a break for me to go home. There hasn’t been any talk of going to anyone’s for dinner. So yes, I’d be extremely happy to accompany you home as long as Faith isn’t mad I’m taking her spot.”

“Nope, she won’t be. I think her parents are coming in from Vegas so. We… well I’ll have to see them before they leave. They’re my second family.”

“Just let me know where I need to be and I’ll be there.” Tristan smiles at her, massaging her leg.

“Good,” Shayna yawns stretching out her arms. “I’m gonna take a little nap. Wake me up when we are home.” She turns in her seat laying next to Tristan, her head on his thigh as she closes her eyes.  

******

 


	13. We were meant to be but a twist of fate...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> California is over.... back to Seattle. Plot twist coming your way.... :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from "Happily" by One Direction... seemed fitting giving the situation in his chapter.   
> Much thanks again to everyone reading this! Hope you are enjoying it! Feedback and Kudos are always appreciated! :)

**Chapter 13**

Hunter sits at the board room table, two giant stacks of Holiday cards sitting to his left, and a bucket of pucks to his right. A handful of sharpies lined up in front of the chair. “Why does this seem like so many more than last season?” He eyes the stacks in front of him.

 

Tristan drops the silver marker shaking out his hand moving the last puck he signed to this left. “This is like sweatshop work,” he whines loudly looking out the door hoping to catch someone walking by.

 

“I heard that Tristan,” Shayna walks by pushing Oliver in the room. “Get to work, all of you.”

 

“They’re so pushy…” Oliver shakes his head walking into the room looking at the table.

 

Hunter chuckles shaking his head “There has to be at least 500 cards...AT LEAST” he fans through the stack, “We’re going to be in here forever…”

 

“I’ve been in here at least 15 minutes and I’ve managed to do….. nothing.” Tristan looks at the table and the few pucks he’s signed. He picks up a red marker switching to the cards.

 

“So Deni...how are things going with Shay?” Oliver smiles, scribbling his name across the Holiday Cards.

 

“My girlfriend and I are doing well thank you, Oliver,” Tristan moves on to the next card, placing it neatly in a pile.

 

Hunter raises an eyebrow, “Thats it? ... you’re doing fine..?”

 

Tristan looks up at him, “Was that not sufficient enough of an answer?”

 

Oliver shrugs, “I guess so… I just thought...I don’t know. It’s rare that we’re together without the girls around… We don’t really talk that much.”

 

“Are you saying you want to gossip about the women?” Tristan raises an eyebrow.

 

Hunter nods, “I mean, I’m interested in discussing things… gossip may not be the best word… but… discussing.”

 

“I’m absolutely interested in gossip” Oliver smirks. “Any time I can learn something new about Faith or Shayna, I’m all over it. It gets filed away for a time I can use it.” he points to his head

 

“What do you know about Shayna that you can tell me,” Tristan looks at Oliver through narrow eyes, curious look on his face.

“Well… I don’t know what you already know.” Oliver shrugs. “Are you talking about current stuff? College stuff? High School stuff?”

 

Hunter gives him a look raising an eyebrow, “You know about all that stuff?” He grabs another card from the stack.

 

“What ever you want to tell me…” Tristan grins switching from cards to pucks again.

 

“Well…” Oliver sits back, setting his marker on the table “Shayna has 3 siblings. Younger sister Dani, two older brothers Brandon and Damien. Her parents moved upstate a few years ago. She was a 4 year varsity soccer player in High School. She and Faith lived three houses away from each other before their parents each moved. They pledged the same Sorority in college, they wear matching onesies on new years because its tradition and they’ll have bad luck if they don’t” he chuckles shaking his head. “Shayna’s favorite color is purple, even though she normally never wears it. She’s allergic to shellfish, and has more sneakers than anyone I’ve ever met in my entire life.”

 

Tristan sits back in the chair, marker in hand, jaw slack with amusement. “Jesus christ, you sure you aren’t dating both of them? How do you know so much?”

 

Oliver shrugs, pulling a puck out of the bucket scribbling his name across the Scarlet crest. “Mostly from Faith. She talks about Shay a lot, I’ve never seen two girls so close before.” He smiles, “I love her stories… she lights up like a Christmas tree…”

 

Hunter furrows his brow, grabbing another card off of the stack.

 

Tristan looks at Oliver, rubbing the side of his head. “The only thing is you’ve only been here a short time, unless…. were you friendly with Faith prior? I think Shayna had told me about something, but she told me it wasn’t her place to say anything mostly because she didn’t have a lot of information about what happened.”

 

Hunter raises his eyes from the table, looking between the two of them.

 

Oliver sighs, “Well...I guess it was bound to come out eventually. Faith was interning with the Scarlet during my rookie season. She was just…” He shakes his head with a smile “she was like this big ray of sunshine. Everywhere she went she just lit up the room. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before...she took my breath away. I introduced myself, we talked. We went out one day after she got off work, and we had a great time. But with her internship and my career both unstable, we both agreed that it was a horrible idea if we kept seeing each other…. but neither of us could just leave it at that. So...we kinda just snuck around for a year...Then I went to Dallas.” His happy tone fading quickly, “I was dumb...I never called…” he shook his head “I really hurt her.”

 

“You had no idea she was here still when you came back?” Tristan asks genuinely interested.

 

“Literally no idea. Normally interns come and go. I had no idea when I walked into that conference room that she was still here...but when she walked through that door…” he sighs shaking his head, grabbing a marker.

 

Hunter throws a puck back in the bucket, grabbing an unsigned one.

 

Tristan nods taking in the information Oliver’s told him. “Interesting,” he goes back to signing the puck in front of him, tossing it to the bucket to grab another one.

 

"Yeah...and Shayna's in love with you" Oliver grins signing another card.

 

“I’m sorry, come again?” Tristan stops mid signature. “She what now?”

 

“Shayna, is in love with you. That giggly, smiley, bubbly, doodle-your-name-in-a-heart, head over heels kind of love.” Oliver chuckles, “Don’t look so surprised Deni, you can’t tell me you didn’t know….” he stares at him in disbelief.

 

“I’m not dense. I’ve known she’s had a thing for me since I came here. Three years of her watching from warm ups, signs, meet and greet events with awkward glances and smiles… there was so much that I didn’t really realize until this year. I mean I did, it was fun making her squirm. I wouldn’t say love… unless she’s said something? Or did Faith say something?”

 

“You can tell by the way she looks at you, Tristan.” Hunter sighs, his head down in a card. “You can see it in her eyes, and the way she talks about you. The way she smiles when she's with you...You can just tell.”

 

“Hunter’s right...and besides, Faith may have said something to confirm everything that Hunter just said…” Oliver nods. “She doesn’t need to say ‘I love you’ for you to know how she feels…”

 

“It’s only been a little over a month though,” Tristan rubs his face.

 

“You’ve been flirting with her for 3 years, Deni…” Hunter shakes his head.

 

Tristan sighs, picking up the marker, grabbing a puck as he scribbles his name across it. “So… Have you two had your Faith gang-bang yet?” he smirks trying to get the conversation off of himself.

 

Both Oliver and Hunter lift their heads quickly, staring at Tristan.

 

“You think Faith is the only one that talks to her boyfriend?” Tristan drops his marker on the table, sitting back in his chair, hands behind his head. “So?”

 

“Not...exactly.” Hunter mumbles quietly.

 

“Tonight….” Oliver shifts in his chair, grabbing another puck from the bin.

 

“Oh that conversation was for real then?” Tristan’s eyes go wide, looking back and forth between them. “How’s that one going to go? I honestly wouldn’t be able to do it. I would break someone’s hands if they even went by Shayna.”

 

“It’s what Faith wants…” Oliver shrugs “If it makes her happy… that’s what’s important to me.”

 

“And you both are ok with this?” Tristan sits back up folding his hands on the table.

 

Hunter and Oliver look at each other awkwardly. Hunter looks back to Tristan straight faced. “It’s what Faith wants.”

 

“Well, this has been awkward,” Tristan grabs the marker, signing a card. He looks back up at them, his mouth open to say something, but he shakes his head. “No… really though? You both look like you would rather jump out the window. How is that even going to work?”

 

“Well...theres rules, obviously. Boundaries.” Hunter takes a sip from his water bottle. “It’s not a free for all.”

 

Oliver pipes up, “She wants to be blindfolded...so that helps make things more comfortable. There won’t be any favoritism. We don’t have to touch each other, only focus on her...I guess the worst thing that will happen is watching someone else please her…”

 

Tristan nods “And you think this is going to solve your problem? Maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t be able to do it. It would honestly kill me watching someone else touch the person I love.”

 

Oliver looks up from his card, “the girl you LOVE” he grins.

 

“We aren’t talking about me right now….” Tristan scrunches his face looking down at the puck he’s picked up in his hand, his cheeks flushing red. “Not talking about me.”

 

“Yeah but...you know what I’m saying.” Oliver wiggles his eyebrows at him, “But I don’t think Hunter, Faith and I have problems, we’re just....trying new things?”

 

Hunter throws a puck into the bucket forcefully, grabbing another one. “Yeah...we’re fine. No problems.”

 

Faith pops her head in the door with a smile, “Hi boys! You guys done yet? We’ve got some pictures for you to sign for the Children’s Hospital….” She sets a stack down on the table, looking between them all. “You guys okay?….”

 

“Oh you know, just fine. My hand might fall off, but sure, drop some more on the table,” Tristan sarcastically smiles dropping a puck to the table with a thud. “Just fine.”

 

Faith chuckles, “Not my fault, Deni, take it up with JP.” She collects the piles of cards that each of them had signed already, making three neat stacks. “You guys haven’t gotten through many of these... “

 

Hunter keeps his head down, working on a few pucks, “We’re getting there…”

 

Oliver smiles at her, “We’re just been catching up on some things, we’ll get through this stuff though…” he points to his cheek.

 

Faith shakes her head with a laugh, kissing his cheek. “Well get back to work! All of you.”

 

Hunter chucks the puck he signed into the bucket with such a force, it tips over, spilling the small pieces of rubber all over the table and the floor. “I’m finished…” He pushes his chair back from the table, walking quickly out of the room. The stack of cards unsigned, the photos untouched.

 

Faith watches him leave, her mouth hanging open, unsure of what just happened. She quickly bends to pick up all of the pucks which were scattered around the room. “I, um...I’m sor-sorry you guys.” She stutters, embarrassed.

 

Tristan looks at Oliver with a raised eyebrow.

 

Oliver pushes his chair back, helping her pick up the mess. “You don’t need to be sorry. It’s not your fault.”

 

Faith nods quietly, setting the bucket down back on the table. “I should leave you guys…”

 

“What the shit… What is going on in here?” Shayna storms in the room looking around. “Why did Hunter leave in a bitchy mood? He better have signed…. oh… uh…” Tristan shakes his head at her. “Jesus christ…”

 

“Sorry, Shay” Faith looks over to her sadly before grabbing her stacks of signed cards, heading for the door. “I’ll make sure he signs the rest of this stuff…”

 

Shayna looks at Tristan and Oliver. “Someone going to fill me in?” The two of them keep quiet signing their items looking at the table.

 

“We’ll be done as soon as we can, Shayna” Oliver mumbles, quickly signing one card to the next. “Do me a favor...can you go check and make sure Faith’s ok?” He looks over to her with his sad brown eyes.

 

Shayna nods, “Of course I am… Just please, finish this. I don’t want to hear JP. I know it sucks,” she pouts at them. “I’ll be back in a bit.” She looks at Tristan who just glances up at her continuing to sign. “Alright then…” she turns to walking out the door.

 

******

 

The week leading into Thanksgiving and the impending Holidays were always a busy and stressful time for the Scarlet offices. They sponsored several charity events, food, clothing and toy drives, spent time doing community service as well as hosting a number of groups for a giant holiday party. A quiet knock at the door startles Faith. “Come in!” Faith hollers, buried elbows deep in paperwork.

 

The door opens slowly and Hunter peeks his head in. “Hey I uh…I know you’re really busy, but…do you have a second?”

 

Faith nods sitting back in her chair. “I was worried about you…Come in,” she points to the chairs opposite her desk “You didn’t answer any of my calls last night…”

 

Hunter steps in her office, closing the door behind him. He sits gently in one of the chairs, leaning forward, his hands resting on her desk, his face long. “Faith, I can’t do this.”

 

“I know…. I kinda figured that after what happened last night. It’s okay…” Faith reaches forward for his hand.

 

Hunter quickly pulls his hand back away from her touch.

 

Faith looks up at him quickly, concern spreading across her face, “Hunt’s it’s not that big of a deal. I was nervous about everything too. I totally understa-“

 

“FAITH, STOP.” Hunter cuts her off, frustrated. “THIS.” He gestures between them. “You and Me. Us. I can’t do THIS. I can’t keep pretending that one day you’re going to wake up and decide that I’m the right man for you. I see the way that you look at Oliver. I see the way you smile when you’re with him, or talk about him. I’ve watched you two together…” Hunter frowns, looking at his hands. “We don’t have that anymore…and I can’t make you fall in love with me, Faith… it’s selfish of me to even try.” Hunter sat for a moment, waiting for opposition, but nodding when Faith sat quietly hanging her head. “I know you never planned for this to happen, and I don’t blame you for any of this…”

 

“Hunter…” Faith breathes, barely audible, her voice shaky. “Don’t do this…”

 

Hunter pushes himself up to his feet, stepping quietly towards the door, pulling it open. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make you happy or give you what you need…” Hunter leaves her office, closing the door softly behind him, silence ripping through the room.

 

Faith sits at her desk numbly, feeling as if the wind was just knocked out of her. Everything that Hunter just said hitting her like a ton of bricks. Tears sting her eyes, but haven’t yet been able to fall. Her chest tight, her mouth dry and her heart aching.  

 

“Faith, what's up? Hunter said you needed…” Shayna calls through the door, flinging it open, halting as she sees her face “…me….”

 

Faith looks up at her with red eyes, “Shayna…” she chokes out as the tears flow freely.

 

“What happened?” Shayna whispers shutting the door behind her, grabbing the box of tissues from the corner of the desk. She holds them out as she sits on the desk next to Faith. “What the hell… was this Hunter?”

 

Faith nods, small sobs escaping her mouth “I...dont even...know..what happened.” She grabs one of the tissues, wiping it across her cheek, “he just…” She shook her head, more tears spilling from her eyes.

 

“Does this have to do with… what happened last night?” Shayna pouts, rubbing Faith’s shoulder.

 

“Nothing happened” Faith sniffles, wiping at her eyes. “He stormed out of the office yesterday, wouldn’t answer any of my calls. He came in here this morning” She swallows hard, “He said he couldn’t pretend anymore,” her face pained, “He knew I’ll never love him, and he was sorry he couldn't...he couldn't make me happy.”

 

“Faith… Faithy… I’m sorry,” Shayna reaches out to hug her. “You knew this was going to happen though. I had a feeling he was going to turn around and just walk away. What you and Oliver have is… it’s too overpowering. Hunter was a nice diversion. Honey, you love Oliver. He loves you.”

 

“But that doesn't make my feelings for Hunter any less significant!” Faith frowns. “He wasn’t just a convenient option! I truly, genuinely, like him. He’s….he’s smart, funny, charming, considerate, handsome, devoted, thoughtful….he goes out of his way to put a smile on my face…” She took another tissue, “And I ruined that.”

 

“You just answered yourself. You said LIKE. What about Oliver? You’re face is just about as bad as mine is when someone says Tristan,” Shayna sighs. “You didn’t ruin anything. He will get over himself. He also didn’t really give anything to this situation. He just basically pouted in the corner. Sending us to the spa? Nice, great. But be real, he hasn’t done anything emotionally. Oliver has been the only one of the two of them that actually gave a shit. Oh, so Hunter grabbed you kissed you a couple of times to say sorry after the fight in Cali, but Oliver poured his heart out, TWICE mind you. You can’t say you ruined things…. he never cared. And to get up and walk away… that speaks volumes Faith.”

 

Faith stares at her hands, trying to pull herself together. “You’re right...But it doesn’t make it hurt any less…”

 

“Obviously. I know that and I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel hurt. Just remember that maybe there shouldn’t be tears shed for someone who didn’t stand up for himself.” Shayna shrugs. “Why don’t we do this… I’m gonna go talk to JP and get us out of here. We can go home and you can get some rest to calm yourself, cry it out if you have to and then we are going to go out later. Sound like a plan?”

 

“I guess so...but theres so much work to do…” Faith looks around her desk.

 

Shayna stands putting her hands on her hips looking down at Faith “You serious? Everything was signed and sent to the interns to finish up. Just…. ughhh.” Shayna pushes the papers off her desk. “Get up… let’s go. You are not going to sit here and cry at your desk for the afternoon. There’s always tomorrow for this shit still and I promise to help.”

 

Faith takes a breath, wiping the back of her hand across her cheeks, standing from her desk.  She adjusts her skirt and blouse, setting her necklace on top, a small smile spreading across her lips. “I need to do one thing first…”

 

“And that is?”

 

“Come on” Faith grabs at Shayna’s hand, leaving her office, pulling her down the hallway.

 

“Where are we going?” Shayna asks being dragged along. “I should tell JP we are leaving….”

 

Faith ignores her, continuing through the offices, pulling her heels off as she approaches the stairwell, running down the steps to the lower level.

 

“For fuck’s sake…” Shayna sighs, taking her shoes off following after her down the stairs. “Couldn’t take the elevator?”

 

Once she reaches the bottom stair, Faith takes off down the hallway in a full out run, rounding the corner to the weight room. She shoves the door open with a loud bang, out of breath she quickly scans the room. A handful of the players are in there, heads turning as the door flies open. Shayna catches up, slamming into Faith’s back in the doorway.

 

“Faith?” Oliver sits up from the bench he was laying on, setting his dumbbells on the ground.

 

Faith walks over dropping her shoes to the floor, pulling him up by his shirt. “I love you...I’ve always loved you.” She wraps her arms around his neck “I never stopped loving you…” She pulls him to her, pressing her mouth against his hard, ignoring the gawking, cat calls, and whistles from his teammates.

 

“About god damn time!” Shayna yells out from the door clapping. “Could have taken the elevator… but I suppose it needed to be ultra dramatic…” she mutters.

 

Tristan shakes his head laughing at Shayna. He steps off the treadmill, walking over to her. “Shush, let them have their moment” He plants a sweaty kiss on her cheek.

 

“Ewww, sweat--” Shayna wipes her cheek turning to look at Tristan. “Oh, I take that back… nevermind,” she grins taking him in from head to toe, his white v-neck tee soaked and clinging to his chest. “Looking good, Deni.”

 

Tristan rubs his forehead, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. “You’re looking not too bad yourself, Shayna” he says softly, his accent strong as he says her name, knowing how she reacts. He bends down, whispering in her ear, “What have I told you about wearing that skirt…”

 

Shayna bites her lip giving him a side glance, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

 

“Yes you do...and I will deal with that later” He smiles, his eyes dark.

 

She swallows hard, trying to take a breath, “Maybe. We might be going out… although, if they don’t separate soon, I doubt it. Maybe come up for some air over there?”

 

Faith pulls back with a loud smack as their lips separate, her chest heaving, eyes dark. “I have to go...”

 

Oliver stares back at her, his hands gently rubbing her arms, “Don’t go..”

 

“We should go before anyone sees us down here…” Shayna nods towards the door.

 

“I have to go, call me when you leave...”  Faith puts a hand on his face before bending down to pick up her shoes. She flashes him a smile “I love you.” She turns to walk back over towards Shayna.

 

“Tristan…” Shayna smiles looking back at him as she turns to the door.

 

“Let me know what’s going on later.” Tristan smirks tossing a towel over his shoulder.

 

*****

 

Faith lays on her sofa, painting her toenails a bright pink. “When do you and Deni leave for your parents? I can’t believe Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away already..”

 

“Wednesday, probably early afternoon. I don’t know how I feel about bringing him home. I haven’t had anyone home since Jonathan. You know how excited my mother gets….” Shayna lays back on the couch holding the magazine she was reading up over her head. “I think this is going to be one of the bigger Thanksgivings at the house. I’m sad you won’t be there.”

 

Faith screws the cap back on her polish setting the bottle on the table, fanning her toes. “I know, I am too...It’s kind of weird that we’re doing things differently this year… But my parents really wanted to come out here for Thanksgiving, and Oliver insisted on cooking” She smiled looking over her shoulder at Shayna. “He really can’t wait to meet them…”

 

“He’s actually cooking? Or you mean catering dinner? If he wears an apron, there better be a picture sent to me,” Shayna laughs. “Your dad is going to be so thrilled. He’s been a fan of Oliver for how long now? Sometimes I think he likes him more than you….”

 

A wide smile spreads across Faith’s face, “My dad was so pissed when he went to Dallas...It really is possible he might like him more than me” she paused for a moment, “actually..no, that’s impossible. But, YES, he’s cooking. Something about how he wants to win over my mom or something?” She chuckles, “I promise I will take pictures.”

 

“Better have food on standby... “ Shayna laughs. Her phone starts ringing on the table next to her, Tristan’s picture lighting up on her screen.

 

“Ooooooooh, its Trissssstan” Faith grins making kissy noises reaching for the phone. “Tristan Deniau Lovers Hotline, how may I direct your call?”

 

There’s a silence at first. “.... Faith?” Tristan asks finally. “I didn’t call you.”

 

“Feel free to enter your party's extension whenever you’re ready...”

 

“Give me the phone Faith….” Shayna holds her hand out wiggling her fingers.

 

“Uh, can I speak to Shayna, Faith….” Tristan laughs.

 

Faith passes the phone to Shayna, “BYE DENI!” She hollers at the phone.

 

“Hello…” Shayna rolls her eyes at Faith. “You should know by now we don’t answer the phone like normal people….”

 

“So I can tell,” Tristan chuckles. “Gavin wants to go out tonight. Ella, is that who it is? She’s agreed to go out with him so he asked if we wanted to go out with them.”

 

“Ella said she would go out with Gavin!” Shayna sits up using the magazine to hit the table to get Faith’s attention from her nails.

 

Faith grins making an inaudible girly squeal “EEEEEEE FINALLY!!!!”

 

“Gavin wants us to go out with them. Can Faith and Oliver go too?” Shayna asks excited, slightly bouncing on the couch.

 

“Gav!” Tristan yells on the other end moving the phone from his mouth. There’s muffled talking, some shuffling over the speaker piece. “He said yeah that’s fine, double back up just in case.”

 

“He said yes!” Shayna yells. “Ok, so what is the plan. What do I wear? Where are we going?”

 

“We are going to go to dinner and ugh, he just said to go to the club,” Tristan sighs.

 

“Dancing? Yes!” Shanya laughs grinning at Faith.

 

“YES! FINALLY MY NEW SHOES!!!” Faith sits up excitedly.

 

“Just don’t wear that skirt.” Tristan replies seriously. “I obviously don’t know what I’m getting into with this. I can hear Faith squealing over there. Anyway, be ready by 8. I’ll text you when I’m at your building. I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

 

“Ok! 8. Got it. See you then.” Shayna hangs up the call looking up at Faith. “What are we going to wear? And I can’t wear anything too short, I plan on dancing my face off.”

 

“Ohhhhh I’m wearing my black romper!” Faith grins “and my new sparkly black Loubs! Ollie’s been dying to see those shoes…”

 

“The new ones? Yes! Hmm… as for me…. I think I’m going to go outside the box on this….” Shayna sits tapping her chin. “I think a white dress, with a… black coat… the black faux leather and my white ankle strap platforms.”

 

“Yes!” Faith sits up, “This is going to be so fun! But it’s already late, we’d better get ready!”

 

Shanya jumps up from the couch grabbing her phone and stuffing it into the pocket. “Don’t forget to call Oliver. Do you wanna meet here or mine?”

 

“I’ll call him now before I get in the shower” Faith smiles, “We can meet here, thats fine with me?”

 

“See you in a bit!” Shanya yells out as she walks out of the apartment.

 

Faith grabs her cellphone dialing Oliver’s number as she walks into the bathroom, turning on the shower.

 

Oliver picks up on the third ring, “Hey babe.”

 

“Hey handsome” she smiles “whatcha doin?”

 

“Putting away laundry. I am domestic sometimes… no one else is going to fold my boxers, unless you want to,” he grins in the phone. “Did you call to tell me you were in the shower?”

 

“I love that you’re doing laundry. You’ll make a great housewife” she giggles. “And, I’m actually just getting into the shower...you know...taking off my clothes...piece by piece”

 

“Your invitation is a little late, but I can make it there in….. 10 minutes if you wait for me.”

 

“Aw babe,” She chuckles “I was just calling to tell you we’re triple dating tonight with Shay, Deni, Gavs and Ella….Dinner and then goin’ to da clurrrrrbbbb” Faith throws her best gangster voice.

 

“So it wasn’t phone sex? Shucks…” he coos. “Triple date, sounds fun. You know how I do love to dance, don’t ya Faithy….”

 

“Well, depending on how you behave tonight, maybe you’ll get some real sex...phone sex is over rated”

 

“Real sex…. sign me up! What time shall I be there?”

 

“We’re leaving at 8...so...be here before 8” Faith slides the door to her shower open. “Let me go get beautiful…”

 

“You’re already beautiful... I’ll see you then. Love you.”

 

“I love you...see you soon” Faith smiles into the phone. “Bye babe…” She clicks off the call, tapping on the camera app, she hops in the shower snapping a quick picture under the water, texting it to Oliver.

 

**Faith (6:48pm):** *Picture* wish you were here. xoxo

**Oliver (6:50pm):** _*Picture of him standing strategically cropped of his naked torso, holding his boxers in his other hand* I was ready and everything… :(_

**Faith (7:13pm):** Very soon… I’m staying with you tonight. See you soon  <3

 

Faith blow dries her hair, pinning it up in a simple twist. She throws on the black romper, tall black heels and dangly diamond earrings. Olivers cross resting perfectly in the small of her throat. She picks up her phone dialing Shayna.

 

“I’m straightening my hair….” Shayna yells with an echo picking up the phone.

 

“Hurry up, I’m itching to go!” Faith sighs into the phone.

 

“I am hurrying! You know how perfectionist I am with my hair… just two minutes. I’ll be up there in two minutes.” Shayna sobs.

 

“TWO minutes, Shay….” Faith huffs into the phone before hanging up. She walks over to her dresser spraying on some perfume.

 

A few minutes later the buzzer to Faith’s apartment goes off. “ITS OPEN!” She calls from the bathroom as she applies some eyeliner. Hearing the door click, she starts talking again “It’s about time you got here, you and that damn hair,” she huffs pulling out her red lipstick “I’m wearing red lipstick, I really hope I don’t end up looking like a whore” she puckers her lips in the mirror, pressing the tube to her mouth.

 

“Whats wrong with my hair?” Oliver leans against the door jam behind her, smiling at her in the mirror. "Do you think I should have straightened mine?”

 

Faith smiles, shaking her head. “Your hair looks perfect just the way it is…” She puts the cap back on her lipstick, dropping it in her clutch. “Hi handsome” she steps back from the mirror, turning to face him, giving a little twirl for approval.

 

Oliver gives her a whistle, “Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Do we have to go out? Can I convince you just to come back to my place…” He holds his hand out to her pulling her to him placing his hand on her lower back, his other sliding along her jaw cupping her face tenderly.  

 

“As much as I would love to just take you back to your place and have my way with you, we’ve got all night for that.” She places a slow kiss on his lips. “You look amazing by the way.”

 

The door flies open to the apartment, Shayna strolling in typing away on her phone. “Are you ready? I know, I know, save the comments on my lateness for never ok. I can’t stand when my hair is out of place…. Oh hey Oliver, nice color. Is that the new MAC line?” She smiles tilting her head to the side. “Works well with your complexion.”

 

Oliver chuckles, “Actually, its Bobbi Brown…”

 

Faith grins, running her thumb across his lips gently, “Oh you leave him alone.”

 

“Bobbi Brown…. right... whatever,” Shayna laughs. “Tristan is downstairs. Shall we?” She turns to the door putting her phone back in her small clutch.

 

Faith grabs her clutch off the bathroom vanity, also grabbing a small carry bag to throw in the car for later. She grabs a black jacket out of the closet before opening the apartment door, “After you guys…”

 

“Asking for trouble with Deni with that dress you have on, aren’t you Shayna?” Oliver asks stepping out into the hallway next to her as Faith locks the door.

 

“No…. maybe. No….” she grins as she smooths the white flowing material down.

 

Faith slides her hand into Oliver’s as they head down toward the elevator. “Deni is going to eat YOU for dinner, you know that right... I’ll run blocker at the bathroom if necessary…”

 

“You guys are cute, but I am not having sex in a club. Thanks though. I am a classy girl....” Shayna mutters with a grin as they walk into the elevator.

 

“I like to consider myself classy...but I’d still have sex in a club bathroom if the opportunity presented itself” Faith shrugs. “If the mood strikes, I think your surroundings are irrelevant.”

 

“This conversation has been stored for future reference, possibly later…” Oliver grins as he squeezes Faith’s hand.

 

“Oh...about that....not tonight” Faith shook her head “Not in a romper...far too complicated”

 

“You want to make a bet on that? Oliver….” Shayna giggles from the corner of the elevator. “$100 says you can make it happen. They are shorts for crying out loud…”

 

“What are you proposing, Shayna, we have sex with the romper still ON?” Faith raises an eyebrow. “Hello Rugburn”.

 

“Shayna has a point, they are shorter than normal shorts. Do you not think I could do it?” Oliver muses as he rubs his jaw. “You’re on Shayna.”

 

Faith steps off the elevator, walking out the front doors towards Tristan who is standing in front of the building with their driver, a large sleek black Suburban truck behind them. She stops in front of him, looking up and pouting, “Deni, tell them it’s a bad idea…”

 

“What’s a bad idea?” he asks confused looking at her, then over her shoulder at the laughing Oliver and Shayna as they walk to the truck.

 

“You’ll say no such and just ignore this. I’ll tell you later. Surroundings are irrelevant… your words not mine.” Shayna laughs shaking her head.

 

Faith grumbles climbing into the large black Suburban truck. “Surroundings are relevant when you’re referencing my vagina, Shayna.” she yells from the third row, Oliver laughing as he slides in next to her.

 

“And this conversation just got weirder….” Tristan shakes his head as he helps Shayna slide in the truck, getting in after her. “Anyone…. anyone mind telling me what is going on?”

 

Shayna smiles leaning over placing a kiss softly on Tristan’s lips. “Just a friendly wager that Faith’s gonna get it in the bathroom of the club with the romper on. You know…. stuff.”

 

Tristan turns to look behind him, eyeing Faith. “It is short…”

 

“DENI!” Faith huffs, throwing her hands in the air.

 

“Three against one. Oliver, these are big shoes to fill….” Shayna cracks up laughing looking back at Oliver.

 

“I’ll take it. I’m not happy to leave the clothes on, but I’ve got a point to prove now,” he laughs placing his hand on Faith’s leg.

 

Faith crosses her legs, shrugging off Oliver’s hand, the shorts riding up her thigh, “You guys suck, you know that…”

 

A few minutes later the truck pulls up to the restaurant, Gavin and Ella standing at the front door waiting for them. Tristan opens the door sliding out, holding his hand out for Shayna. Oliver follows, holding his hand out to help Faith out of the truck.

 

Ella holds her arms out in excitement for Faith and Shayna, “Oh my god you guys came!” She hugs each of them.

 

“Oh my god you’re actually out of the lab and school!” Shayna giggles. “Looking good might I add. I love that black dress.”

 

Ella gives a spin, she’s wearing a black lace mini dress, Jimmy Choo sky high black lace platform heels on her feet, her ultra platinum blonde hair in loose curls around her face.  

 

“It’s nice to get out of a lab coat once in a while,” she grins.

 

“Let’s all go inside and get a drink, our table should be ready soon.” Gavin speaks up over the girl chatter.

 

“Gavs! Looking good!” Faith hugs him. “Thanks for inviting us.”

 

The group walks into the restaurant together, Gavin stopping at the reception to check to see if their table was ready. “We have about 15 minutes,” he announces as he walks back to the group. “Enough time for a drink,” he eyes the bar with a smile.

 

“Now Gavin, no bottles for you yet…” Shayna laughs at his enthusiasm.

 

“We might just share one if you don’t mind…” Ella grins, shrugging. “I haven’t been out in a while....”

 

“We still have the club yet….” Shayna shakes her head at the two of them.

 

“I assume you’ll have your usual obnoxious concoction?” Tristan asks with a gentle squeeze of Shayna’s hand to catch her attention.

 

Shayna turns into him, his arm wrapping around her shoulders pulling her close. “It’s not obnoxious. By the way, this outfit combo you have going on here…. delicious.” She licks her lips as she runs her hand up the front of his grey cardigan sweater to the black button up underneath, her fingers trailing up the unbuttoned buttons to the white v-neck tee peeking out.

 

Tristan smiles warmly looking down at Shayna, kissing her forehead “I knew you would like the sweater.” He ushers her to the bar placing their drink order.

 

Faith hops up onto a barstool, crossing her legs, again causing her romper to ride up her thigh. “I’ll have a Jack and Ginger….double.” She flashes a smile at the young bartender.

 

“On the house, ma’am” he grins at her, placing her drink down on the coaster in front of her.

 

Oliver turns to Tristan shaking his head, “Can you believe this?” he chuckles pointing to Faith. “We’ve been here two minutes and she already has the bartender eating out of her hands…”

 

“We should have just had Faith order our drinks….” Tristan sasses.

 

“It’s the romper…” Shayna sing-songs from Tristan’s side. “Show a little more leg maybe we can get dinner too.” She sticks her tongue out at Faith.

 

“Oh, I was just gonna blow the waiter...but if you think more leg will be sufficient….” Faith rolls her eyes. “It’s not THAT short you guys…”

 

“It’s short” Both Oliver and Tristan say in unison.

 

Ella peeks her head out from behind Gavin, “if I can see that you’ve got nothing on under that...then yes, it’s SHORT, Faith…the world does not need to see your lady business.”

 

Shayna snorts on her drink, “For real? What are you looking at Tristan? It better be that potted plant in the front reception….”

 

Gavin tilts his head to the side, “Not that I was looking or anything but...I don’t see anything wrong with this…” he motions towards Faith with a grin on his face.

 

Oliver looks between Tristan and Gavin, giving them both a smack. “EYES. UP.” He slides in next to Faith’s chair blocking her from anyone close by. Keeping eye contact with her, he runs his index finger up the outside of her thigh slipping under the shimmery material of her shorts to her hipbone. His lips twist into a smile as he leans in to her ear, “You knew exactly what you were doing when you put this on, didn’t you? Such a bad girl, Faithy.” He trails his finger over her soft skin to the inside of her thigh, teasing slightly as he pauses for a beat then slowly retreating down her leg.

 

Faith picks up her glass from the bar top, “So what if I did?” She raises an eyebrow at him, bringing the small straw to her lips with a smile.

 

“I’d prefer not to drown today thanks… besides the table is ready.” Shayna coughs walking past Faith’s chair, Tristan following behind her trying not to laugh.

 

Faith hops off her barstool, grabbing Olivers hand. They follow Gavin and Ella over to the table, sitting around the circular table.

 

“Hey, does anyone have an extra knife to cut some of this sexual tension?” Ella muses pointing between Oliver and Faith.

 

Shayna and Tristan hold up their knives, looking at each other laughing.

 

Faith shrugs with a smirk, “At least I have sex with my boyfriend...”

 

Tristan busts out laughing, giving Gavin a nudge.

 

Ella flips Faith the finger, placing her hand over Gavin’s. “Whateverrrrr” she chuckles.

 

“Um...we should probably...yeah...order?” Gavin mumbles, his cheeks bright red from embarrassment.

  
  
  



	14. And we danced all night to the best song ever.....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group date is going well.... It's gonna get interesting kids.... buckle up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We totally had a blast writing this. Ella is probably one of our favorites to write because she is so true to her real life counterpart. Heart you T! ;) <3 
> 
> Chapter title is from "Best Song Ever" by One Direction.... seemed fitting haha!

**Chapter 14**

 

They exit the restaurant slowly, looking for their car. The drive pulls up with the suburban, coming around the open the side door for them. The three boys step aside, waiting for Faith to climb in the truck.

 

“After you, Faith.” Gavin smirks, receiving a playful elbow to the side from Ella before she climbs into the Truck.

 

“For fuck’s sake…” Shayna scoffs stopping in front of Tristan looking up at him. “Tie,” she mutters shaking her head as she climbs in after. Tristan rolls his eyes at her. “I may not have seen that, but that eye roll…. just you wait,” she calls out from the back seat.

 

Gavin looks at Tristan with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t even ask.” Tristan pushes him in the truck, Oliver laughing behind them.

 

Ella calls from the back seat, “the tie means Deni’s getting restrained tonight!”

 

Faith busts out laughing, giving her a high-five. “Deni’s a bad, bad boy…” she coos in her best seductive voice.

 

Tristan glares over his shoulder looking at the three girls in the back seat.

 

“Don’t you look at us like that….” Shayna shrugs. “Faith knew you were there… I won that bet.”

 

“It was a bet?!” Oliver laughs, his eyes wide as he looks at Tristan. “You let her…. you let five foot nothing back there tie you up?”

 

“I am five foot six thank you….” Shayna rolls her eyes.

 

“No.” Tristan looks out the window, his face bright red. He takes his phone out of his pocket looking at it. He shakes his head putting the phone back in his pocket continuing to look out the window.

 

“What was that….” Gavin pushes his head over, trying to look at Tristan’s phone screen.

 

“Ohhh...are there pictures?” Oliver grins, leaning in from the other direction.

 

Tristan continues to ignore them. Shayna leans forward wrapping her arms around his shoulders placing a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t be pouty… these two would kill to be in the same situation.”

 

Tristan nods, patting her hands gently. “I’m fine…”

 

The car pulls in front of Trinity, as the driver quickly exits the front seat. He pulls the doors open, allowing the boys to hop down out of the vehicle.

 

“HEY!!! MORENO!!” a large bouncer walks to the truck as the girls slide out. “OLIVER! Holy shit, I heard you were back!” He holds his hand out to Oliver.

 

“Frank!” Oliver shakes the guy’s hand with a pat on the back. “Yeah, I’m back with the Scarlet. Nice to see you again.”

 

“Are you on the list… like I have to ask that. This crew with you? Come on, straight in to the VIP.” Frank waves to the group unhooking the velvet green rope passing the large line. He grabs the walkie talkie from his back pocket walking them inside the main dark hall “Hey, I’ve got Oliver Moreno and 5. I need a table stat,” he calls over. The radio crackles, a voice on the other side giving the ok. “Follow me.”

 

Faith looks at Shayna and Ella with wide eyes. “What the fuck is going on?”

 

“Did we miss something Oliver?” Shayna asks tapping his shoulder.

 

“I might have come here a few times in the past….” Oliver smirks as they walk to the double doors leading to the club. “Just a few…”

 

Faith reaches out, lacing her fingers with his, “If this is what happens with ‘just a few’, I’d love to see what you get when you’re a regular…” she gave him a smirk. “I mean Really Oll’s?”

 

“I think he thinks he’s us in Vegas,” Shanya laughs looking at Faith, quickly she puts her hand to her mouth. “I mean…” she giggles trying to keep her face serious.

 

A grin spread across Faith’s face, “I think you’re right…”

 

Tristan gives the girls a look, “Vegas?”

 

Ella pipes up from next to Gavin, “Shayna’s best friends with a hot male-stripper!”

 

“ELLA!”” Faith scoffs, shaking her head. “Oh-nay, alking-tay about the ippers-stray!”

 

“I am no such… Why would you even bring that up?” Shayna glares at Ella slapping her arm. “He’s just a good friend!! You’re not coming next time.” She slaps her arm again. “Stays in Vegas…”

 

“You’re what? In Vegas?” Tristan asks “Did she say stripper?”

 

“Nope. Nope she didn’t…” Shayna coughs, shaking her head.

 

Tristan opens his mouth to say something “She---”

 

Gavin cuts him off “Whoa...is all this for us?” he points to the large plush booth, complete with a private table, three bottles of champagne, a bottle of grey goose, a bottle of patron, and several glasses lined up.

 

“Oliver… holy shit!” Shayna yells.

 

“Just a few times…” Oliver laughs taking in all of their faces. “If you need anything else, they’ll bring it. Just ask.”

 

Gavin walks to the table grabbing the bottle of Patron holding it up looking at the group with a grin.

 

“Pop it Gavs!” Ella cheers, raising her arms up.

 

“No Patron for me… that Grey though… my name is on that baby,” Shayna grabs the large clouded bottle. “Hello my friend…”

 

Faith slides an arm around Oliver, pulling him to her, “This will definitely end with body shots...” she places a kiss on his cheek before pulling back slowly. “We’re in, Gavs!”

 

Tristan takes the bottle from Shayna, twisting the cap off, taking a swig directly from the bottle. Shayna watches him take a gulp, her mouth slightly slack as he finishes, his lips slick from the vodka. She takes the bottle from him, pouring it into a large glass.

 

“Alright then….” Shayna shakes her head dropping ice into the glass with some cranberry and orange juice. She grabs another glass mixing the liquid. “You ok?” she looks at Tristan.

 

“Yeah, just pour me some of that with seltzer over ice,” he nods looking over the railing at the dance floor.

 

“Get something to take a shot of,” Gavin interrupts.

 

Shayna nods pouring some into another cup with some cranberry mixing it quickly then pouring it into two small shot glasses. She hands one to Tristan, taking the other as they join the circle of their friends.

 

“So thank you all for coming out. Thank you Ella for accepting my invitation. Thank you to Oliver for this fucking sweet hook up. Here’s to you guys, I love you all like family,” Gavin holds up his shot. “Cheers!” They all hold up their shots, clinking in unison, tossing the shots back.

 

“So small confession, I might have told the driver to come here, obviously. The owner is a friend of mine hence the spread….” Oliver holds his hand out at the table. “Also the DJ on tonight is one of the best in the area. Let’s have some fun!” He picks the bottle of Patron up, filling the small shot glasses.

 

Shayna pours what’s left in the large glass into her and Tristan’s glasses. She looks up at him with a smile, blowing him a kiss. He smirks, leaning down to kiss her, his hand cupping the back of her head, pulling her close. Shayna swipes the tip of her tongue out grazing his lower lip. Tristan opens for her, possessively claiming her mouth with his, their tongues dueling for space between them.

 

“Hey… over there. We’re trying to take shots here. Come up for air! Hurry before the set starts,” Oliver scoffs, pretending to sound annoyed with a chuckle.

 

They separate with a loud noise, Shayna grinning with her one hand gripping Tristan’s sweater. He wraps his free arm around her as they stand holding up their shots to the group.

 

“Thank you. This one is for you guys again. Thank you for welcoming me in to your group, accepting me and handing over Faith,” Oliver laughs, shifting slightly to miss the playful elbow from Faith. “Have a great time tonight! Cheers!” Their glasses clink again, shots being tossed back.

 

Faith slams her glass down on the table, shaking her head  as the patron burns on its way down. “Come on! Let’s go dance!” She grabs at Ella’s hand, pulling her away from the table. She looks over her shoulder at Shayna, still entwined with Tristan, “Shaaaaayyyyy!!” She pouts, motioning towards the dance floor.

 

Shayna holds up her finger, nodding that she’d be right there. “Come dance with me?” she smiles gently running her hands up his chest and over his shoulders.

 

Tristan shook his head slowly, “You girls go… I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

 

Shayna plants a kiss on his cheek before turning to go out on the dancefloor with Ella and Faith. The thump of the bass blasts through the speakers  as the lights in the building flash in colorful beams. The girls press their way out into the middle of the dancefloor, securing their location.

 

“I should’ve known they weren’t going to dance” Ella scoffs tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she moves to the music.

 

“Oh I bet they will” Faith smirks, looking over towards the boys who had congregated near the railing, drinks in hand, watching them like hawks. “We just have to bait them…and they’ll come running.”

 

“I don’t think Tristan can handle any more surprises tonight” Shayna chuckles, “my poor Deni…I can’t wait to get my hands on him later.”

 

Faith grins sandwiching Ella between herself and Shayna as they dance, “trust me...they’ll be thanking us later…”

 

Gavin watches the three girls shaking and gyrating to the music, taking a slow sip of his drink. "How do they know how to do that..." he shakes his head, turning to Tristan and Oliver, "it's like an unwritten code of being a girl."

 

"What's that Gavs?" Oliver chuckles looking from the girls over to where Gavin was standing next to him.

 

"They just....ugh!" He waves his hand in their direction, frustrated. "If we danced together we'd look ridiculous! But them...they just look..."

 

"Hot." Tristan stares at Shayna, watching her every move like a hawk.

 

“Exactly!” Gavin nods, “I almost just want to stand here and watch them all night…” he leans against the railing, taking another sip of his drink.

 

A tall, athletic built man slides an arm around around Faith from behind, dancing up against her. “Hello beautiful. Can I buy you a drink?”

 

Faith turns quickly, eyeing the handsome man behind her, a grin spreading across her face. “Jack and Ginger...Double.” she bats her eyelashes at him, as he nods, turning towards the bar. Faith looks up towards the boys, locking eyes with Oliver, a smile spreading across her face before she turns back to the girls.

 

Shayna laughs shaking her head, “I see how this is going to work… hook, line and sinker” she smirks, high fiving Faith.

 

Ella rolls her eyes, “he’s probably going to roofie you! Don’t drink it!”

 

Faith stares at her in disbelief, “You need to get out of the lab more often, he's trying to get laid, not arrested!” She tosses her hair as her athletic admirer returns with her glass.

 

“I’m Ben…” he smiles handing her the glass.

 

“Faith...thanks for the drink.” she smiles.

 

Tristan looks at Oliver “Uh, you’re going to allow that?”

 

Oliver shrugs with a smile “I want to see where this goes.”

 

“I’m going down there,” he tosses back the rest of what’s in his cup dropping it to the table.

 

“Don’t say anything. Just leave it alone.” Oliver holds his hand up as Tristan walks around them. “Trust me.”

 

Gavin puts his glass down on the table as well, “I’m not even playing this game...I’m with Tristan.”

 

Oliver shakes his head turning back to watch from the railing. “Whatever you guys want. Just don’t say anything…”

 

“Here comes Tristan and Gavin!” Shayna laughs, still dancing to the beat.

 

Ella starts laughing from in front of her. “I don’t know what you’re doing Faith, but thanks for that!”

 

Ben slides an arm around Faith from behind, dancing close to her. Faith looks up to Oliver, bringing the straw to her lips, looking for opposition.

 

Tristan pulls Shayna close to his front, wrapping a protective arm around her, “Shayna.”

 

“Don’t even think for a second I was gonna pull whatever that is…” Shanya smiles sliding closer to him. “You totally fell for it though…” she chuckles.

 

“I was going to come down here… eventually.”

 

Gavin hovers close to Ella, his arms draping over her shoulders. “I’m glad you came tonight…” He eyes her up and down with a smile.

 

“Why haven’t you kissed me yet, Gavin?” Ella smiles, cocking her head to the side. Gavin stares at her with a blank face, speechless. “Oh for christ sake…” she grabs his face in her hands pulling him to her, devouring his mouth with hers.

 

Faith continues dancing with Ben, her eyes fixated on Oliver the whole time. Ben’s hands resting gently on her hips, as he continues to grind their bodies together to the music.

 

Oliver leans against the railing, watching Faith dance intently. Every move of her hips shifting the position of her shorts, her hair bouncing to the beat.

 

Faith places her hands on top of his, sliding them up his forearms gently as she pushes her ass back against him, hinging at the hip slightly.

 

Tristan looks over at Faith, his face dropping. Shayna turns to face him, her finger tapping his cheek. “None of your business.”

 

“But…. she’s your friend, how are you going to let…”

 

“Something is going on, it’s on purpose. Don’t ask questions,” she laughs running her hands up his sweater. “Why don’t we get a drink at the table….” She grabs his hand, nodding to Faith. “Can’t bring these two anywhere…” Shayna points at Gavin and Ella, still making out in the middle of the dance floor. They walk back up to the table, passing Oliver standing by the railing, drink in hand, his eyes dark, a slight smirk on his lips as he continues watching Faith.

 

Faith steps forward, letting Ben’s hands fall from her. She turns to face him, “You’ll have to excuse me for a moment…” she points over towards the restroom, walking towards the back corner of the dancefloor.

 

Oliver swallows the rest of his drink, setting the glass on the table, before walking towards the corner of the club, intercepting Faith near the bathrooms. “What exactly do you think you’re doing?” He backs her up against the wall, a mischievous smile on his face.

 

“Well… I was going to go pee, then I was going to come back up to that table and have my way with you.” Faith raises an eyebrow, sliding her arms around his waist. “I was waiting for you to come down and save me from big, bad, Ben...I saw you watching.”

 

“You didn’t look like you needed saving… you looked like you were having a good time.” Oliver shrugged nonchalantly. “You wanna go back out there with that guy when you’re done? I’ll go back to the table and watch…” His brown eyes burning into her dilated blue ones.

 

“Hmm…” Faith bit her lip, with a coy smile.”As tempting as it to go back out there...I’d much rather it be your dick pressed against my ass than his.” She slides her hands down his back, giving his ass a squeeze. “But if you’re not interested…”

 

“You go and then you come back to that table…” Oliver leans forward catching her mouth with his, pressing a hard kiss against her lips before heading back to the table. He pours himself another drink, sitting down next to Shayna and Tristan before taking a large sip. “She is going to be the death of me one day…”

 

Shayna laughs setting her glass on the table “You enjoy it, don’t even.”

 

Oliver shakes his head, “Ok, maybe I do antagonize her a bit,” he smirks. “It’s worth it.”

 

“Exactly.” Shanya nods.

 

Faith walks back up to the table, grabbing one of the bottles of champagne, popping the cork. “Miss me?” She slides into the booth next to Oliver, drinking directly from the bottle.

 

“I always miss you,” Oliver slides his arm around her, pulling her close to her, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck, running his hand up her leg. “You’re not going back out on that dancefloor…”

 

Faith puts her hand on top of his, halting it in its place. “Good things come to those who wait…” She looks over at Shayna and Tristan, trying to subtly get Shayna’s attention.

 

Shayna looks up catching Faith’s glare. “So, Tristan. How about that dance floor?”

 

“I was enjoying sitting down for a bit,” Tristan pouts.

 

“First off, you’ve only been on the floor for like 2 minutes. Second….” Shayna leans into his ear whispering.

 

Tristan looks at her closing his eyes, shaking his head as he slides out. “Dance floor it is.” He holds his hand out for Shanya as she stands. She takes her coat off dropping it to the cushions.

 

“We’ll be back…” she winks at Faith as she and Tristan walk off to the dance floor.

 

Faith lifts her hand up off of Oliver’s giving it an encouraging pat to continue. She turns slightly to look at him, a slow grin creeping across her face. “You look so sexy in that shirt Ollie,” she rubs her hand down over the buttons of his black shirt. “And those pants…” she looks up at him out of the corner of her eye, as her hand skims over his belt buckle, “they fit you in all the right places.”

 

“Faith...” Oliver breathes softly.

 

“You wanted to fuck me while I was wearing this romper, didn’t you?” Faith slowly ran a finger down the line of his zipper, then back up again. “And you like the thrill of being caught…” She presses her hand hard against his crotch, cupping his growing erection through his pants. “So how about you give it to me right here…”

 

Oliver shifts his hips in the booth, trying to create more friction against Faith’s palm, a slow groan escaping his lips. “Here? Sitting in the booth, in the middle of the club, for everyone to see…right here?”

 

Faith pushes herself up off of the seat sliding into his lap, her back pressing against his chest. Turning her head to the side, she places a kiss on his cheek “No one will ever know if you take things slow.” Faith slips her hand between them, reaching for his fly.

 

“Faithy, are you su-…” Oliver is cut off as Faith presses her lips against his, her hand slipping quickly inside his pants, rubbing firmly against his boxers. “Jesus…” He lowers his mouth to her neck, planting gentle kisses along her shoulder.

 

“Looks like you enjoyed watching my little show” Faith grins to herself, stroking him slowly, feeling him growing in her hands. “Did you like it when I danced on him? When I pushed my ass against his dick?”

 

Oliver takes a ragged breath, swallowing hard. “I did like it… I loved watching you tease him…the poor bastard had no idea…” He continues rubbing his hands up her thighs, sliding his fingertips up under the hem of her shorts. “Feels like you liked it too…”

 

“I was imagining it was you…” Faith dips her hand inside his boxers, rubbing her thumb in circles over his tip gently. She is greeted with a hard thrust of his hips and loud moan that gets swallowed by the bass thumping through the room. “That’s what I thought…you like that anyone can look over here and see us…don’t you, you dirty boy.” Faith looks over her shoulder at him, grinning at the sight before her. His head pressed back against the back of the booth, eyes still closed, mouth hanging open, and a smile pressed on his lips.

 

Shanya and Tristan work their way out on to the dance floor looking for Ella and Gavin. They spot them still in the same spot as before dancing along to the music, surprisingly not attached at the mouth. Shayna waves, taking up space next to them, Tristan following behind her.

 

She turns to face him, glancing past his arm, double taking Oliver’s face at the table. “Ooohhh, no she isn’t.” Shanya laughs grabbing Tristan’s sweater pulling him closer to her.

 

“Who’s not doing what?” Tristan looks down at her with confusion turning slightly back toward the direction they just came from.

 

“The reason why we got up. Don’t you dare turn around…” Shanya pulls Tristan by the arm back to her. “Let’s just say I won the bet,” she giggles.

 

Ella leans into Shayna’s ear “IS SHE…..Doing what I THINK she’s doing….”

 

Shanya laughs nodding. “YUP!”

 

“That’s it….” Tristan moves fast turning quickly catching a glance of Faith and Oliver. He whips back around just as fast. “OH, that’s what you meant. Well….” he coughs looking at Gavin who’s standing there looking in the direction of the table. Tristan slaps his arm. “Come on man…”

 

Gavin shrugs, “Someone was bound to do it...but in the middle of the club? That girls’ got balls.”

 

“Gavin!” Ella laughs, shoving him.

 

Faith wraps her hand around his cock gently pulling it out of his pants as she leans back against him, lifting her hips from his lap. Oliver pushes the sequined material of her shorts over to the side, as she positions him at her opening. “Slow, Ollie…Slow” she warns as she lowers herself onto him with a groan, adjusting the material of her romper as she goes. She sits upright with a satisfied smirk.

 

“Jesus Christ, Faith, you can’t just sit there…” Oliver whines, his hands gripping hard at her hips.

 

“Well I can’t very well just ride you here in the booth, now can I” she peers over her shoulder at him. “Consider this an exercise in control….” Faith rolls her hips forward, taking him deeper. “If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll even finish you off…” she grins at him.

 

“MAYBE?” Oliver sits up, shifting beneath her pressing her forward against the table, the glasses sliding together with a loud clink. “Hell no baby, two can play this game…”

 

“Oliver Scott!” Faith scoffs at him, eyeing him over her shoulder. “Don’t you dare…” she  leans back into him, “You sit your ass back down. We are not causing a scene here.”

 

Oliver relents, sitting back against the plush material of the booth. He moves his hands from her hips up her body, cupping her breasts giving a firm squeeze, pulling her body back against his. He brings his face right next to her ear, biting playfully on the soft skin. “You’re driving me fucking crazy right now, Faith.”

 

“That’s the point,” Faith nods arching her back, raising her hips up an inch or two before sliding back down his length settling back into his lap,. “If I wanted you to get off easy I’d be on my knees in that bathroom over there” she nods towards the corner of the room where the restroom is. “But we’re gonna make this one last.” Faith contracts her muscles, squeezing him from within.

 

Oliver breathes hard against her neck, his breath hot against her skin. He slides a hand in her hair tipping her head to the left, grazing his teeth over the exposed flesh.  “You keep doing that, nothing is gonna last..”

 

“Oh, so you like that?” Faith smirks, gripping his cock hard inside her before relaxing her muscles, and repeating.

 

Before he has the chance to answer, he sees Frank approaching the booth, “Moreno! How’s everything? Pretty crazy tonight, right?!” He motions towards the commotion going on all around them. He turns looking back at the pair, “Beautiful Girl” he smiles at Faith, extending his hand. “Frank.”

 

Faith leans forward, making sure to use this movement to her advantage, pushing him farther inside of her, “Faith” she grins shaking his hand. “Thanks for all of this, we’ve been having a great time!” She remains upright, applying direct pressure to his hips, feeling him throb beneath her.

 

Frank chuckles giving Oliver a smack on the shoulder, “Anything for this guy!” he nods at Faith with a smile before walking past the table. “Enjoy yourself!”

 

“Later, man!” Oliver swallows hard, his grip around her waist tightening. She was testing him and he was trying to keep it together. “Faith, I swear to god…”

 

She giggles turning over her shoulder to face him, “I know, I know, that was really fucked up of me… But come on, I couldn’t resist” She rubs his cheek placing a kiss on his lips. “Bathroom?”

 

“YES.” Oliver growls against her mouth, “It won’t take long..”

 

Faith presses herself up from his lap, repositioning her clothes as to not give the whole club a show.

 

Oliver stuffs his throbbing cock back in his pants, pulling his zipper up quickly “Move it, Faith.” He nudges her towards the wall.

 

Faith grabs his hand with a chuckle, “Easy there, tiger…” She tugs him towards the back corner of the VIP area, pressing through the Ladies restroom door. A handful of women are in the room,  a few looking themselves over in the mirror, some casually chatting with a friends. Faith ignores the looks as she shoves Oliver into one of the stalls slamming the door closed behind her.“Sit” she grins, shoving him down onto the toilet. She reaches out to him undoing his belt buckle, top button and zipper. Her hand dips quickly back into his boxers as she drops to her knees in front of him.

 

“No..” Oliver grabs at her arms, “Get up.” He pulls her back to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist.“You finish what you started.” Oliver slides his other hand up under her romper, again pulling the fabric to the side.

 

Before she has time to object, Oliver pulls her down in his lap thrusting up into her forcefully, eliciting a loud moan from Faith. She wraps her arms around his neck, pressing her mouth hard against his, her tongue flicking out against his lips.

 

Oliver parts his lips, his tongue anxiously meeting hers. He presses his hands firm against her ass, pulling her hips into his. His movements deliberate and hurried. Faith knows that right now is all about Oliver, and he’ll take care of her later. Faith grips his shoulders for leverage as she slides up and down his slick shaft.

 

“Faith,” Oliver groaned, dropping his forehead head to her shoulder. “I cant…”

 

“C’mon Ollie…” She grabs his face in her hands “Look at me…”

 

Oliver slid his hands under her ass with a grunt, standing with her in his arms. He shoved her hard against the stall wall with a loud thud, pressing into her for leverage as Faith locked her ankles behind his back holding him in place. “Jesus, Faith.” He rests his forehead against hers staring at her with crossed eyes, his breathing ragged as he rams into her.

 

“That’s it…” Faith flicks her tongue out across his lips “Harder.”

 

Oliver bites down on her shoulder, to stifle his moan as his body crashes into hers triggering his orgasm.  He pushes against her a few more times before slowly lowering her feet to the floor, his body exhausted, pinning her in place.  

 

Faith cups his face in her hands, placing a slow kiss on his lips. “VIP treatment.”

 

After taking a moment to clean themselves up, they slowly emerge from the bathroom stall hand in hand.

 

“Well, that sounded like fun. Guess it is true, surroundings are irrelevant…” Shanya grins looking into the lit up mirror running her fingers through her hair. She looks at Faith and Oliver’s reflection in the large glass, her eyes wide with amusement “Did it stay on?”

 

Faith eyes her in the mirror, “Did you seriously just stand in here listening to us fuck in the bathroom?”

 

“No. I just walked in. Honestly had to pee… and make sure everyone had floatation devices on in here,” Shanya cracks up closing her clutch. “Only been here for like barely a minute. The girls on the way out though…. Can’t say the same for them.”

 

Faith shook her head, “Well… glad we could put on a good show…” She looks in the mirror at the fresh bite mark on her shoulder. “Shit, thats a good one” she chuckles, turning to Shayna. “Look at this one…”

 

Oliver stands awkwardly, looking around the ladies room, getting looks from the women walking in and out of the room.

 

Shayna inspects the mark, laughing. “Good one Ollie!” She holds her hand up as she turns to the door.

 

Oliver shakes his head at her slapping her hand with a smirk. “Want me to send Deni in to see if he can match that?”

 

Shayna’s face turns red. “No… NOOOO. Shut up Oliver.”

 

Faith giggles, sliding her arm around his waist. “I bet if Deni bit her it would be on her ass…”

 

“Ha ha. So funny…” Shayna mocks laughs as she opens the door heading out to the booth. “He doesn’t bite my ass….”

 

“He doesn’t know what hes missing.” Oliver smirks.

 

“Who’s missing what?” Tristan asks getting up from the table handing Shayna her drink.

 

“You...biting...long story…” Faith chuckles, grabbing a bottle of Champagne pouring a tall flute.

 

“Right…” he looks at Shayna who shrugs looking away taking a sip of her drink.

 

Ella raises an eyebrow, obviously intoxicated, “Anyone wanna address the elephant in the room?” She stares at Oliver and Faith.

 

Faith shrugs looking at Shayna, “Ask her, she likes to eavesdrop.”

 

“I was peeing thank you very much.” Shayna pouts.

 

“I’ll be honest...you were gone for a while…” Gavin chimes in from behind Ella.

 

“I’ve had a lot to drink! Jesus… I don’t need to listen to them doing anything!” Shayna whines wrapping her arms around Tristan’s waist. “I wasn’t….”

 

Tristan places a kiss on her cheek, “It’s okay if you were…”

 

“Yeah...I don’t mind an audience.” Oliver smirks sitting back in the booth, hands behind his head.

 

“Clearly…” Shayna mutters, her face pressed against Tristan’s sweater.

 

“We’re just messing with you Shay!” Faith grins taking a sip of champagne. “It’s not a big deal either way…”

 

Shayna lets go of Tristan, grabbing her drink off the table finishing it in two gulps as she grabs the vodka bottle. “Whatever you guys say.” She pours more into her glass mixing it with the juice. Tristan hands over his empty glass getting a refill as well. “I’m making a drink and going back on the floor.”

 

“How about you guys just dance up here?” Tristan asks taking his glass off the table.

 

“Nope,” Shayna smirks. “Anyone else?”

 

Faith holds up her glass, “Fill me up, baby!”

 

“I thought Moreno already did that…” Gavin smirks while filling his glass with straight Grey Goose.

 

Oliver glares over at Gavin shaking his head, “Keep talkin, kid...” he chuckles.

 

“Come onnnnn…. Who’s coming? I love this song!” Shayna yells looking at the table, pouting.

 

Faith gets up grabbing Shayna’s hand. “SALLY!!” She grins, “Lets goooooo!!”

 

“I’m coming!” Ella throws back a shot dropping it to the table with a clink nearly stepping over Gavin to get out of the booth.

 

Tristan groans leaning against the railing, “I don’t know if I can take anymore of their dancing…”

 

“What are these lyrics even?” Gavin takes a sip of his drink, stepping next to Tristan watching the girls dance around on the floor.

 

“I don’t listen to this, I have no idea.” Tristan sighs rubbing his face.

 

Oliver gets up from the booth, standing with Tristan and Gavin, his elbows resting on the railing. “Mark my words…” he tips his glass towards the dance floor “I’m gonna marry that girl one day.”

 

“Already?” Tristan glances at Oliver. “Not going to let her get away this time?”

 

Oliver shook his head, “I knew that back then...and it scared the shit out of me.” He took a long sip from his glass, his eyes fixed on the girls dancing. “Every day just makes it more clear.”

 

Gavin shakes his head, “Marriage…”

 

“Shut up, Gavs, not all of us are still teenagers” Oliver gives him a playful shove.

 

“23, thank you very much!” Gavin chuckles.

 

“That’s good for you Olls. Have you decided when you’ll ask?” Tristan leans forward resting his arms on the railing, rolling his glass in his fingers.

 

“Not yet…” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m still…” he shrugs “I don’t know…”

 

“And you said I was blind…” Tristan laughs. “You don’t know what? Scared? Please…”

 

“I don’t know...It’s not so much ‘scared’ but….” Oliver takes a long drink finishing his glass “Well, yeah...ok, scared. It’s kind of a big thing...”

 

“Don’t be such a little bitch, Moreno.” Gavin smirks, throwing back another shot. “If you love her?” he shrugs. “Why not?”

 

Oliver nods, “I know...it’s just a big decision… I need to talk to Shayna.”

 

“She’ll tell you to do it. She’ll be so excited,” Tristan smiles looking out on the floor, eyes fixating on Shayna.

 

“Yeah...she’ll give it to me straight though. I don’t think she’d sugar coat things,” Oliver walks back over to the table pouring himself another drink. “I just don’t want to rush her.” He returns to the railing, looking over at the girls. “They’re tanked” he chuckles.

 

“Well this is going to be an adventure,” Tristan finishes his drink off, shaking the ice around in the glass. “I have to admit, I’m feeling a little buzzed.”

 

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Ella twirls nodding up to the three sets of eyes staring intently at them, careful not to make eye contact.

 

“I have no idea but I can feel Tristan’s eyes burning into the back of my head,” Shayna laughs shimmying around.

 

“The only thing I feel is fucking drunk and horny,” Faith huffs with a chuckle. “I don’t know which I feel more of actually…”

 

“You guys don’t go back to Tristan’s right?” Ella asks Shayna with a pout. “Gavin is NOT coming back to school with me.”

 

“No, always my apartment. Actually I’ve never been over there….” Shayna wrinkles her nose. “Feel free to go there… you better give Gavs some action.”

 

“PLEASE give him some ass, Ella...I’m begging you. He needs it… Bad.” Faith nods with a smirk. “Besides, he really likes you. A lot.”

 

“You don’t have to beg, God. He was already getting it,” Ella beams. “Just securing a location.”

 

“I’ll be at Oliver’s tonight, so if you need a place...I’ll give you my keys?” Faith offers.

 

Ella shakes her head, “Nah if Tristan is going to Shay’s I’ll go back with Gav.” she grins. “I’ve been waiting forever for this...”

 

“Ok, so game plan is set. I don’t even know what time it is but I know it’s time for me to take that sweater off of Tristan so… shall we collect them?” Shayna nods in the boys direction.

 

“After promising him a million dollars and my first born child if anything happens to it, Pat gave me Ollie’s home jersey... “ Faith smirks, “I’ve been ready to go since before we left…”

 

“Oh it’s gonna get serious….” Shayna laughs. “Why not go for the three-peat?”

 

Ella dances right past Shayna and Faith walking back up to where the boys were standing, sliding her arms around Gavin, slipping her hands in his back pockets. “Hi.” she smiles.

 

Shayna and Faith make their way back up the stairs to the group, shaking their heads at Ella.

 

“I’m ready to go home,” Shayna walks to Tristan’s open arms.

 

Faith nods in agreement, “Yeah I’m pretty tired too,” she smirks, “It’s been a long night…”

 

“I just wanna get laid,” Ella states matter-of-factly. “So if everyone’s ready…”

 

“You heard the girl…” Oliver snickers looking at Gavin. “Let’s get them home.”

 

Tristan slaps Gavin on the back. “Just stay out of my room.” He grins setting his glass on the table, grabbing Shayna’s jacket, “Lets go…”

 

Oliver wraps a protective arm around Faith, leading them towards the front of the building, nodding at Frank on his way out. Frank waves, grabbing his walkie-talkie signaling that they were leaving.

 

The truck is waiting at the entrance for them as they walk out to the quiet street.

 

“I’m getting in last” Faith crosses her arms, “No more free shows..”

 

Shayna laughs pulling Tristan into the truck. Ella shakes her head waiting for Tristan to sit down next to Shayna. She pushes Gavin in climbing in quickly behind him to sit on his lap.

 

“For the love of god don’t you…. and they’re making out.” Shayna moans from the back seat.

 

Faith giggles, “Well that didn’t take long…”

 

Ella lets go of Gavin’s shirt long enough to give them the middle finger, her mouth still attached to his.

 

“Don’t forget to breathe…” Oliver pat Gavins shoulder.

 

“We should probably drop them off first before they destroy the interior of this truck,” Tristan smirks.

 

Faith nods, “Yeah seriously… please take them to a bed.” She grins at the driver in the rear-view mirror.

 

The driver nods back pulling the truck out on to the street. They drive for a few minutes, the sounds of Ella and Gavin the only noise in the truck.

 

“I feel so grossed out right now…” Shayna laughs. “It sounds so wet and gross…”

 

Faith nods, “I mean, I’m all for PDA and shit, but...Jesus… ELLA I SEE YOUR ENTIRE ASS” She slaps Gavin’s hand, pulling her skirt back down.

 

“We’re here, thank god,” Tristan sighs pointing out the window.

 

Oliver gives them a shove, “Out...out...Bed...GO”

 

Faith pipes up, “Call me tomorrow!”

 

“Stay out of my room!” Tristan yells as they climb out. “Clean up after yourselves!”

 

“They’re so going to fuck on your bed and you know it.” Shayna laughs then pouts. “And I haven’t even gotten to.”

 

Faith shakes her head, “Really, Deni? What’s that about!?”

 

“I like Shayna’s apartment. We really have nothing up there. Two guys live there. We have a couch, tv, Playstation, hockey gear… Shayna’s is comfy.” he shrugs. “Eventually, even though I’m going to have to throw out everything I own after those two.”

 

“Oh come on, Tristan… Don’t you remember the first time you had sex with Shayna?… leave them alone!” Faith shook her head chuckling.

 

“Oh you mean that time you walked in on us?” Shayna mutters.

 

“Oh shit, really?”  Oliver smirked looking to Faith. “That’s low…”

 

“Never got to finish that until later that day…” Tristan coughs. “Thanks for that by the way.”

 

“Yeah but….the longer you hold out, the more intense the orgasm!” Faith smirks. “YOU.ARE.WELCOME!”

 

“Oh yeah because going to practice like that was fun.” Tristan scoffs.

 

Oliver shrugs, “You have a cup for a reason...no one knows…?”

 

“Thank god we are here…” Shayna pushes the chair to let them out.

 

“Bye friends, have a good night!” Faith grins waving.

 

“Good night! Thanks for possibly giving up my future godchild. Have fun!” Shayna giggles taking Tristan’s hand.

 

“SHUT UP SHAYNA” Faith glares at her.

 

Shayna blows her a kiss before shutting the door.

 

Faith grumbles sinking down into her seat, “Bitch…”

 

“And that was about….” Oliver looks over at Faith sulking in the chair.

 

“I can’t tell you” She crossed her arms, visibly aggravated. “But she’s a BITCH” she spat angrily, hypersensitive from the alcohol.

 

Oliver slides over closer to her putting his arm around her. “You don’t mean that and I’ll continue to not be confused by whatever that was.”

 

Faith rests her head on his shoulder, “I’ll fill you in later..”


	15. There's a moment when you finally realize...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a big one. I don't know if you guys are ready for this. Hunter's stepped out... Faith confessed her love. We had some chatter at the club... What could possibly be next? 
> 
> It's the start of the Holiday season here in Seattle. Families are being introduced... should make for good times. 
> 
> Chapter title from One Direction, "Ready To Run"

**Chapter 15**

 

“I’ll be right up baby, I’m just getting a bottle of water…” Oliver calls over his shoulder as he walks down the hallway towards the kitchen.

“Take your time” Faith calls from halfway up the stairs to the loft, her voice echoing throughout the space below. She couldn’t help but smile to herself, Oliver was about to get his second fantasy fulfilled in one night. She quickly drops her bag to the chair in the corner of the room, pulling out Oliver’s red Scarlet jersey. After spending 45 minutes with Pat in the equipment room promising her life away, he finally agreed to let her take his jersey for the night. Faith swiftly unzips her romper, stepping out of it carefully as to not catch her heel on the fabric. She unclasps her bra, tossing it and the romper back into her small bag. In one swift motion she throws the Moreno jersey over her head, sliding her arms through the sleeves. Her hands barely coming to the bottom of the material. The jersey hangs low, covering almost everything, leaving just a peek of the bottom of her bare ass hanging below the stitched hem. She reaches up, unpinning her hair, letting her curls fall freely around her face. Placing the clip into her bag, she gives a quick spray of her perfume to both the front and back of his jersey, making sure the liquid absorbs into the fabric. He was going to remember this every time he put this jersey on.

She tucks the little bottle back inside and zips her bag closed. Adjusting her shoe, she crawls up onto Oliver’s bed, bringing back memories of when they were younger. A grey, black and white cover sheaths a huge down duvet with 6 pillows spread across the head of the bed. The duvet was different than what she remembered, but it was still unbelievably soft. Faith rearranges the pillows, and sprawls herself out across his bed on her side making sure the crest of his jersey was visible from the doorway. She bends her legs slightly, sending the hem of the jersey just up over her hip, her ass peeking out there for all to see. She rustles her fingers through her hair a few times to give a little volume, and lays back, propping herself up on an elbow.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I changed some things around in the ……” Oliver walks up to the top of the stairs coming to a dead stop, dropping the water bottle in his hand to the floor with a thud, his eyes wide, jaw hanging open. “Faith.... damn,” he stares at her as he tilts his head slightly taking in the sight before him. “Is that….. mine?” He points to her, the corner of his mouth turning up.

Faith turns from her side to laying on her stomach bending her legs up to show off her sparkly black Louboutins, the red MORENO on the jersey now visible to him at the entryway, her bare bottom exposed for him to see. She flips her hair, looking over her shoulder at the name plate. “Looks like it…” She looks up at him out of the corner of her eye, a small smile forming on her lips.

Oliver picks the water bottle up off the floor, discarding it to the dresser next to him. His smile grows as he walks closer to the foot of the bed with each step. “I don’t know if I want to know how you managed this one, but I feel like I’m going to owe a trainer a huge thank you for this.” He sits just on the edge of the large bed, his hand reaching out, fingers gently tracing the stitching of his last name on Faith’s shoulders. “I must say Faithy, my last name looks good all over you….”

Faith nods watching his hand on her back. A slow burn rises into her cheeks at the thought of her having his last name. “I’d have to agree... but I could think of a few other things that also look good all over me”

Oliver looks up at her eyes, “Really....” his fingers continue to the hem at the bottom of the jersey, lightly brushing over the soft skin of her bottom, grazing south to her thighs tracing slow patterns down her legs.

"Mmmhmm" Faith muses as she bites her bottom lip. "You like what you see..." she says matter-of-factly, goose bumps forming on her skin from his touch.

“Oh yeah…” Oliver nods slowly, swallowing hard, “You look so fucking hot right now…Hotter than I ever imagined...”

Faith bites her lip with a sly smile as she curls one leg upward, her shoe shimmering in the light. “Tell me what you imagined, Oliver…tell me what you’re gonna do to me tonight...”

Oliver lets out a ragged breath, his fingers skimming over the coarse material of her shoes, “First, I’m gonna flip you over, and lick from your knees to your throat, stopping briefly to bury my face between those soft thighs, and make you moan my name…” Oliver brings his hand back down to her ankle, his fingers exploring every inch of her skin, as he gently moves up her calf. “Then, I’m gonna stand you up, and we’re gonna go over to the couch, and you’re gonna bend over showing me that beautiful ass of yours.” He raises a hand, giving her cheek a loud smack causing Faith to moan loudly. Her leg falling quickly back down to the bed.

“What else, baby…” Faith moans at him, her face flushed as the heat burns to the newly formed red mark on her right ass cheek.

“I’m going to fuck you nice and slow...just the way you like it” Oliver runs his fingers over her hot skin, the outline of a handprint becoming more visible as the seconds pass, before he moves his hand to the other side. 

“And…” Faith breathes, the anticipation of another smack coming.

“And right when you think I’m gonna let you come…” He slaps his hand hard against her skin, making her cry out again. 

“Ollie.” Faith gasps,

“My sweet Faith...I’m not done yet” Oliver grins, his hand again gently caressing the handprint on her skin. 

“Tell me” Faith pleads as she buries her head into one of the pillows beneath her. “What else, Oliver…”

“Once I’ve got you all worked up…just when you thought I was going to finish you off. I’m going to take you out on that balcony, and pin you up against the building, and fuck you so hard.” Oliver bends down, his teeth nipping at the skin on the back of her inner thigh. “So hard that the whole building is gonna hear you beg me.”

Faith lets out a loud whine, pushing herself up on her elbows, looking back over her shoulder at him. “Well?? What the hell are you waiting for?”

Oliver smirks up at her sliding his hands under her hips flipping her over onto her back. Faith props herself up on her elbows looking down at him, “It’s been way too long since we were last in this position”

Oliver nods bending his head down pressing his lips against her thigh gently, looking up at her out of the corner of his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. “I remember it well…” he mumbles against her skin, his hands lightly running across her hips. “If I recall…” Oliver gently pushes her legs apart, exposing her to him. “I think there’s a spot right…here” He flicks his tongue out over the sensitive skin.

“Jesus Christ, Oliver.” Faith reaches down, placing a hand on the back of his head, the scruff on his cheeks tickling the skin of her legs. “Stop teasing me..”

“Faith baby….I’m going to spend all night teasing you.” 

********

Oliver smiles, getting up from the table to give Shayna a hug. “Thank you for meeting me, Shay. Faith has the Christmas Toy Drive meeting, so she should be tied up for another couple hours or so…” He pulls out her chair for her, pushing it in as she sits before walking back around to his seat. “I ordered you a Molson...it’s Molson you like, right?” his eyes hopeful as he slides the glass in front of her. “If you want something else, feel free, its not a big deal. I can just tell them that I was wrong” He rambles on nervously.

“Is everything ok, Oliver?” Shayna eyes him as he sits across from her. “Not that I don’t want to have lunch with you or anything, but without Faith….”

“I just...I need to talk to you about something, and I can’t do it around Faith...and I didn’t want to do it at work, and obviously inviting you over would look bad…” He rubs the back of his neck, fidgeting in his chair. “If you’re uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else...or I mean, you can call Tristan too.. I don’t mean to put you on the spot…”

Shayna takes a sip of her drink. “Can you just take a breath for a hot second? Calm down. You’re making me nervous and I don’t even know…. wait a second,” she squints at him tilting her head. “Something is up. Spit it out.”

“Sorry...Yeah. I just..” Oliver rubs his hands together nervously, avoiding eye contact. “God why is this so hard!” he huffs.

Shayna rolls her eyes groaning impatiently, “Oliver, you have two seconds. I think I know where you are going with this, but----”

"I WANT TO ASK FAITH TO MARRY ME, SHAYNA" Oliver blurts out, interrupting her.

Shayna’s hands go to her mouth, her jaw dropping. “That…. was not…. OH MY GOD!” she squeals. “Are you serious? Oliver, that was not where I thought this was going… Holy shit! HOLY SHIT!”

Oliver lets out a deep sigh, unsure how to gauge her reaction. “Is that...a good holy shit? Orrrrr a ‘you’re out of your mind’ Holy shit….?” The color draining from his face in anticipation as he wrings his hands together anxiously.

Shayna jumps up from her chair, aggressively hugging Oliver. “I’m so excited! I’m so happy for you guys…” she lets go of him looking at the table next to them staring. “HES MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND" Shayna grins at them, "Oliver, I’m so proud of you.” she wipes at her eye sitting back in her chair. “I’m going to cry I’m so excited! So where is the ring? When are you asking? Did you even pick a ring? How are you going to ask? Don’t tell me you’re going to ask on Christmas… Are you even spending Christmas together?” the questions just spilling from her mouth.

“Jesus Christ, Shayna…” Oliver lets out a relieved laugh listening to Shayna ramble on. “I have a ring picked out...I think…” he pulls out his cellphone producing a picture, passing it over to Shayna. “It’s a round cut diamond…..”

Shayna takes the phone from his hand looking at the picture. “Ooh, Tiffanys! Round cut. Looks to be about one…. one point five carat? The setting of the stone is beautiful. I like the channel setting of the galley stones. White gold…. smooth band. I love it Oliver. She’s going to love this! It’s elegant, classy, not flashy. Totally Faith.” she smiles handing the phone back over to a confused looking Oliver.

“I have no idea what all that crap you just said means..” Oliver stares at her in amusement. “But I liked the two little loopy things on the sides of the bigger diamond in the middle, because I felt like that was us, and the middle...well...I kinda pictured our family as the middle… I don't know..that's dumb I guess...it was just pretty,” he chuckles tucking his phone back in his pocket. “How am I going to ask her? Thats….thats why I need you.” He takes a long sip of his beer, setting the glass back down on the table. “I have NO idea…”

“Me?” Shanya asks. “Are you asking if this is some sort of girl chatter that we’ve talked about a thousand times like ‘One day I hope I get proposed to while we’re….’ because,” she pauses taking a sip of her drink. “Yes we have talked about it and you’re going to do the complete opposite of it.”

Oliver stares at her blankly, “I um… why… wouldn’t I do what she...wants?” He raises an eyebrow at her. “I want to make it perfect for her, Shayna. I want to give her the world.” He says sincerely.

“If I tell you how she always imagined it what fun would that be? She’ll know exactly what is going on and that just ruins it. God, such a man…” she shakes her head. “You know what would be interesting…. making it a game. Make her work for it, get her a little frustrated.” Shayna claps her hands together practically jumping out of her chair. “YES CLUES! Can you handle that?”

Oliver swallows hard, taking another sip of his beer. “....yes…?” he answers uneasy. “Will you help me, Shay? Please.” he asks, his eyes pleading for her assistance.

“Obviously. Let me just go home and grab glitter and glue. But first…” she leans back in her chair with a grin. “Questions. Did you speak with her dad? Tradition and all that, because I’m honored you’d ask me for my best friend’s hand in marriage…”

“Her parents are flying in tomorrow…” Oliver again shifts uncomfortably in his chair “I’ve never met them before, but I was planning on talking to her dad...although I’m pretty much terrified of him.”

“You should be,: Shayna gives him a look before cracking a smile. “Nah, I’m just kidding. Honestly sometimes I think he loves you more than her… as a hockey player. Maybe. Just speak to him up front. Make sure he knows your intentions. Faith is their little girl, keep it real. Speaking of intentions…”

“He knows me..?” Olivers eyes go wide.

A wide grin spreads across Shayna’s face. “You think Faith is your biggest fan? HA! since day one Lach has been Team Moreno. Even when you left, he still supported you. I was given such a speech for talking shit about you…. I said I would burn your jersey.” She holds her hand up at his disapproving look, “Oh please! Me and everyone in this city…” she shrugs looking at him. “He was so mad at me. I wasn’t allowed in the house for like 2 days. I gave Faith that jersey by the way….”

A smile spread across his face, “I can’t believe Faith never said anything...Do you think they know about what happened between us back before I left...I just don’t want any surprises.”

“I didn’t even know about you and that should speak volumes. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she was so worked up when you came back. She finally broke down and told me. So I’m going to go ahead and say no they don’t know although I’m not sure.”

“I don’t know if thats good or bad...Because at least if they did, I could say that we’ve been dating ‘off and on’ for several years…. now it just looks like we’ve been together for a couple months.” Oliver leans back in his chair, “and I feel like that’s not going to go over well..” he shook his head. “But Shayna, I knew...I’ve known forever… thats part of why I never called her back.” Oliver face drops thinking back to being in Dallas. “You don’t know how many times I dialed all but one number in the phone…How many texts I typed and deleted...”

“That heart and emotion you just put out, that is what is going to win you over. Lachlan will just want honesty. It would probably be bad if they knew you guys were together without a proper title and then you just left breaking her heart. So I’d leave that bit out for now… Just tell him honestly how you feel.” Shayna smiles.

“Thank you, Shayna” Oliver smiles back at her. “And to answer your question about intentions? I just want to wake up next to her every day, spoil her, remind her how irreplaceable she is…”

“You’re going to make me cry… seriously.” Shayna gushes. “I am so excited for you and Faith.”

Oliver grins, “I’m like… 75% excited...25% terrified. I just want to make things perfect, you know?”

“It’s going to be amazing Oliver. She will say yes. She loves you so much. You have nothing to be afraid or nervous about.”

“So these clues you speak of…” Oliver finished his beer up, running his fingers along the rim, “elaborate…”

“Well depends on where you want to do this. We can do it here around Seattle… clues all over the place. Our old neighborhood, the office, her apartment, the locker room....” Shayna winks.

“Oh….you know about that, huh?” Oliver smirks, “Of course you do….But we can add our first date too?” He smiles wide at the memory, “God I can still remember what she was wearing… how she smelled…” he shook his head, “like it was yesterday…”

“You are sickeningly adorable. You know that? If you can make a list of places and items and how many clues you want to use we can go from there. And yes, I know about the locker room. I’m kinda sad that it’s no longer a hot destination for me and Deni….” she coughs, looking down at the table. “Anyway, if you can do that… that would be great and we can go from there.”

Oliver laughs out loud, “I should make you a list of places to forget about too...We had to be pretty creative trying to avoid a building full of people….thank god they never checked the swipes on Faith’s ID Badge…” he smirks.

“I swear to god if you say a suite… I’m going to disown the both of you.”

“Ooohhhh, no we never went onto the exec level....But, the conference room table…” he nods

“I guess I gotta get on that then,” Shayna smirks. “Eww, the table. Come on. I’ll never look at it the same way.” she rolls her eyes. “I don’t want to know anything else.”

“The table...Faith’s old manager’s office, I dont even remember his name… the locker room, the PT room, the bathrooms.” a mischievous grin curls on his face “JP’s office...well JP wasn’t around, but...still...that office…”

Shayna drops her head to her hands. “I said no more!” she laughs.

Oliver reaches across the table and pats her head sympathetically. “Your apartment…”

“I said I knew something happened back then and noooooo, Faith swore up and down. Jesus Christ… I hate you guys. I’ll get you back.”

“It was only like...twice! We didn’t even use your bed!” Oliver defends.

Shayna mock sobs, “Forever unclean….”

“Moving on….” he chuckles “I’ll make you a list of stuff...and….you think that ring? You’re not just being nice right? That’s really something she’ll like?”

“Always go with your gut instinct. I really do think she will like it.”

“Good...because I already put a deposit down on it….” Oliver smiles, “I don’t want to wait, Shayna. I just...ugh” he huffs. “I can’t explain it.”

“I’m honestly so excited to help you with this. Faith is going to be so surprised. What are you going to do at the end though? Didn’t even think of that….”

“....the end?”

“Yes, the point of the clues is to lead her to somewhere… Obviously you’ll be there but where to?”

“Oh...I guess just ask her, right?” Oliver racks his brain, unsure of what other options he has. “Is that...wrong?”

“Well yeah you’re going to ask her… but like you’re not just gonna be there… WAIT… wait. I know… we can bring the girls in. OH, this is going to be good….” Shayna slaps the table with excitement. “Each stop of your memory lane will be a friend. And this way at the end we will all be there! Unless you don’t want an audience…”

“I think it would mean the world to her if you guys were there…” Oliver smiles nodding. “SEE! I knew you would know what to do!”

“Ok, so we need a list. And then we can work on clues from there. I’ll talk to the girls. Let’s do this!”

“Shayna, please...the ONLY thing I ask… is PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t tell Faith. I know you guys tell each other everything, and can do your freaky ESP mind-reading-each-other thing...but I really want to surprise her, Shayna.”

“Oh no Oliver… this is going to get her back for not telling me about you in the first place.” Shanya smirks. “She’ll have no idea what is coming…”

“Thanks, Shay” Oliver pushes himself up from the table, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

“Of course! I’m really excited for this!” Shanya hugs him back.

 

********

“Hi Mom! Sorry to call so late, it been a crazy day at work.” Faith smiles, settling back into the sofa unscrewing the cap off of her water bottle.

“Oh sweetheart, its so good to hear your voice!” Lynn smiles through the phone “You worked today? Are you home now? You’re not still working are you?”

“Nah, I’ve been home about 10 minutes” Faith chuckles taking a quick sip. “I try to leave the office before 7 on non-game days…today…I didn’t do so well” She glances at her watch…9:37pm.

“You work too hard sweetie.” Lynn frowns into the phone.

Faith’s heart sinks, thinking instantly of Hunter and how he would scold her for working too hard. “I know…” she speaks softly, pressing her eyes closed. “I know mom…”

“Everything ok, Faithy?”

“Oh yeah” Faith forces some pep into her voice “Sorry, was just thinking about something from work that I almost let slip from my mind….But anyway, I have a question for you!”

“OH? What is it honey” Lynn asks through the phone

“Well…I know you’re flying in tomorrow, and Ollie and I were talking...why don’t you just stay with us? He’s got more than enough space at his condo... We can make Thanksgiving dinner there, you have no idea how much Ollie wants to meet you guys…” Faith giggles. “I just thought we can have a real Thanksgiving for a change, like a big family, you know? And you and dad don’t have to live out of a hotel. It’s close to everything, its secure, free parking… more personal.”

“I’d have to run it by your father, but I’m sure he would love that. You know how much he hates dealing with all that hassle.” Lynn smiles, “And we’re both eager to meet Oliver. Will Shayna be around too? I haven’t seen her since Becca’s wedding!”

“Actually, she and Tristan are heading up to Pat and Annie’s. Danielle’s gonna be back in town, and I’m sure the boys will be home too. But I made dinner reservations for tomorrow night, so we can all go out together after you get in. You can meet Oliver and Tristan then too. You’ll love Tristan, he’s a sweetheart.”

“Oh, that’ll be so nice! Anne and I were just talking the other day about how much we miss you kids” Lynn smiles widely.

“We miss you too. But we’re all coming to Vegas for Shay’s birthday, so…it won’t be long until we see each other again.” Faith tossing her hair to the side looking at her reflection in the mirror across the room. “I should probably get going and make myself beautiful, Oliver is coming over with dinner in about 20 minutes, and I’m still in my suit from earlier...busy day today.”

“Faithy you could be in sweatpants and a t-shirt and still be beautiful.”

Faith chuckles, “Ironically, I heard that from Ollie when I was complaining that he was coming over so soon… but I still don’t believe you guys… I can’t wait to see you tomorrow, Mom. I love you”

“I love you too honey. Say hello to Oliver for me.”

“I will….bye Mom!” Faith hangs up the phone with a smile.

******

After spending the morning at work accomplishing next to nothing, Faith and Shayna had decided to spend the afternoon doing some light shopping for the holidays before heading to the airport to pick up her parents. Faith throws the car in park, quickly hopping out at the terminal, “I’m SO excited! It’s been SO long!” Faith gushed with excitement. 

“I haven’t seen them in twice as long since we were out in Vegas before the start of the season…. start of the summer really.” Shayna climbs out of the car bending down to tie her sneaker. “They’re going to be so excited to see us. Your dad will probably ask why we aren’t at the office.”

Faith grins, “I told them I was sending a car to get them….”

“This is going to be good…” Shayna giggles as they walk into the arrivals area. “What gate?”

Faith scans the board looking for their flight number, “Looks like….A13! Over here!” She points down the corridor.

“Looks like the plane just landed. We should have brought a sign…” Shayna pouts looking out the large window to the plane taxiing in.

Faith scans the people as they begin to deplane. “Where are theyyyyy” she whines, slapping Shayna’s arm frustrated.

“Ow, Jesus, I don’t know. They’re your parents… don’t they normally fly first class? How the hell do I know?” Shayna rubs her arm. “Is that them?”

“They always fly first class!” Faith huffs, looking up at the board to confirm the correct gate. “I don’t get it!”

Shayna shrugs looking down the hall, watching the people spill out the doorway. “No idea.”

Faith walks closer to look down the jetway. “OH! Oh” she points “They’re coming!” She smiles widely, bouncing a little in her shoes.

Faith’s mom, Lynn, exits first with a small carry bag on her shoulder. Salt and pepper hair sits about shoulder length, framing her face. She turns to look over her shoulder, hurrying along Faith’s father, Lachlan. His 6’3 frame towers over Lynn, as he steps up next to her.

Faith grabs Shayna’s arm, walking over towards them. “MOMMMMMMM!!! DAD!!!”

“MOMMMM! DAD!” Shayna yells mocking Faith with a big grin. “I had to…”

Lachlan looks up, spotting the girls, a big grin spreading across his face. “Cubby” He pats Lynn’s arm, pointing to the girls.

Faith plows through people, throwing her arms around him. “Hi Daddy!”

“Shayna!” Lynn places her bag on the floor, pulling Shayna to her. “Hi baby” she kisses her cheek.

“Eeee! Lynnie!” Shayna hugs her back hard.

“SWITCH” Faith grins letting go of Lachlan and hugging Lynn “Mommmmm, I’ve missed you so much!”

“Lach!” Shayna hugs Lachlan receiving a pat on the back. “Oh come on… you’ve missed me!”

“Oh come here you wee monster” Lachlan chuckles giving her a big bear hug, his Scottish accent coming out full force. “Ah we’ve missed you girls so much!”

“SO!” Lynn looks around “Where are these gods-gifts-to-earth boys we keep hearing about?” she chuckles picking her bag back up off the floor.

“I don’t know who told you that….” Shayna giggles. “They’re at….” she looks at her phone “Should be wrapping up practice.”

“They’re meeting us at Bone Point for dinner in about an hour...by the time we get your bags and get through the city...should be just on time!” Faith grins, “I’m so happy you’re here!”

“Also you would want them to shower before dinner. Practice and all that…” Shayna nods.

Faith nods, “Yeah, they’re pretty stinky after practice…” She crinkles her nose. “Come on, lets go get your bags so we can go!” She put her arm around Lachlan like a child.

*******

Oliver bounces his leg uncomfortably sitting with Tristan in the bar area of the restaurant, nursing his vodka tonic, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

“You’re shaking the table,” Tristan mutters picking his glass up off the table.

Oliver nods, “Sorry….I’m just…” he shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh.

“Do you think you’re the only one nervous? They’re not even officially Shayna’s parents,” Tristan takes his glasses off rubbing his eyes.

“I have to ask them to marry their daughter…” Oliver shoots Tristan a look.

“Touche…” Tristan puts his glasses back on, grabbing his glass again taking a gulp from it. “Just take your foot off the table.”

“Oh god” Oliver groans, looking up, seeing the four of them walking in the doors at the main lobby. He quickly throws back the rest of his glass. “If you pray...start now.”

Faith leads the pack into the lobby, scanning the room for Oliver and Tristan. She catches a glimpse of them in the bar, a smile spreading across her face. “There they are!” She grins walking across the room grabbing Oliver's hand. “Hi.” She smiles.

Tristan stands hugging Shayna as she walks up to him. “Hey. Close your mouth. You look like a fish.” he whispers in her ear, kissing her forehead.

“But… your glasses!” Shayna giggles.

“Breathe” Faith smiles kissing Oliver’s cheek, turning back to her parents. “Mom..Dad…This is Oliver.” She points to her parents “Oll’s this is my mom, Lynn...and my father, Lachlan.”

Oliver smiles extending his hand to Lachlan, “It’s nice to finally meet you sir…”

Lachlan smiles firmly shaking Oliver’s hand. “Oliver Moreno, the pleasure is mine. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to meet you. I’ve been a huge fan since your first season. Damn shame you left, but I’ve been following your career. Great to have you back in Seattle. IN SEATTLE…” Lachlan looks at Shayna. “Where he belongs.”

Oliver chuckles, “Thank you...that means alot to me. It’s great to be back…” he looks to Shayna with a smirk.

“I’ll never live it down… ever.” Shayna mutters, rolling her eyes.

“Mrs. McCallium,” Oliver extends his hand to her, only to be pulled into a hug.

“I’m a hugger, Oliver” Lynn chuckles pulling him to her. “Please...call me Lynn.”

“Tristan, these are my adoptive parents... second parents, this is Tristan Deniau.” Shayna grins letting go of Tristan’s hand.

“Very nice to meet you both,” Tristan holds his hand out to Lachlan.

Lachlan shakes his hand firmly, “Eh, we call you the Cannon back home, Tristan” he chuckles. “It’s a pleasure to meet you...I don’t know how you put up with this wee monster, but, god bless you.” He gives Shayna a wink.

Tristan grins “Cannon. I like that.” He turns to Lynn, nodding as he accepts her hug.

Faith slides her arms around Olive'rs waist, a big smile on her face. “Who’s hungry? We have a reservation…”

Shayna raises her hand, her other catching Tristan’s hand. “Starving.”

Oliver nods, “We just came from practice, I’m starved too…”

Lachlan chuckles, “Let’s go…” He places a hand on Lynn’s back encouraging her to go first.

The girl at the front desk walks them to a table off to the back, the windows overlooking the marina behind the building.

The group sits ordering drinks and their meals, enjoying each others’ company. Dinner arrives shortly, everyone digging into their meals.

Lynn leans to her left, whispering in Shayna’s ear, “Sweetheart, you shouldn’t stare...It’s making him fidget.” She smiles patting her leg under the table.

Shayna laughs, coughing slightly. “I can’t help it. He never wears his glasses. I’m just a little…”

“Turned on?” Lynn chuckles, “Keep it in your pants until after dinner... if Lach sees that look, everyone will get lectured.”

“Gotcha.” Shayna bites her lip, blushing looking down at her plate pushing the potatoes around.

“Relax sweetheart, he hasn’t stopped staring at you either.” Lynn smiles, sitting back, taking a bite of her dinner.

“I feel for Oliver over there… Lach is just so excited, he might need to lecture himself.” Shayna nods across the table with a smirk. “Maybe Oliver should have given him a jersey or something… He would have peed himself.”

Faith chuckles from the other side of Lynn, shaking her head at Shayna, “I can arrange that…” she turns to Lachlan, “Dad...come on, leave Ollie alone!” she smiles, her left hand resting on Oliver’s thigh.

Oliver puts his hand on top of hers, “Faithy, its fine…” he turns to her, giving her a smile.

“Sorry, Cubby... “ Lachlan smiles nodding, “But there’s just something about the way he plays in Seattle...It’s like there's this extra wee boost here that he didn't have in Dallas…”

Oliver goes wide eyed, focusing on his plate of food, mouth shut.

Faith’s cheeks flush, nodding slowly, “Heh….yeah.”

Shayna snorts, trying to cover it with a cough. “Wonder what that could be?”

Faith shoots her a death glare.

Lynn audibly laughs too, giving Lachlan a look of disbelief, shaking her head.

Shayna looks over at Tristan, a smirk on his face as he sits back in his chair looking out the window to the marina keeping to himself. Shayna nudges his foot under the table, tilting her head to the side. He turns to look at her shaking his head.

Lachlan looks between Faith, Lynn and Shayna, a blank look on his face, “I’m clearly missing something here...do one of you lads want to fill me in? I’m stuck living around these 3 girls, I always miss everything” He smiles, looking at Tristan, then to Oliver for clarification.

Faith buries her face in her hands mumbling, “Dear god…”

Tristan shrugs, “No idea,” he looks at Shayna taking a potato off her plate.

“I don’t know if it’s something… or… someone…” Shayna smirks slapping Tristan’s hand, jabbing her fork in the air at him. “You need those hands for a living… keep off the potatoes.”

Lachlan turns to Shayna, “I don’t follow, Monster…”

“OH MY GOD, DAD.” Faith blurts out. “ME. Everyone is talking about ME. He plays well because of ME!” She drops her fork to the table dramatically, her face bright red.

Oliver rubs Faith’s back softly. “She’s like my good luck charm,” he smiles.

“Yeah, that little extra oomph!… if you know what I mean…” Shayna smirks taking a sip of her water .

“SHAYNA” Faith scoffs as Lynn starts chuckling. “Jesus, really? You too?” Her eyes turn to Lynn, “You’re my mother!” She half chuckles, half whines.

“Horrible... “ Tristan laughs looking up at Oliver.

Lynn laughs, reach out touching Faith’s face, “You’re my daughter, but you’re also an adult...and let’s be honest. If this were Shayna, you’d be laughing too…”

Faith huffs looking at her father, still with a blank look on his face. “Dad...really? Nothing?”

“Jesus this is awkward... “ Shayna sighs turning to Lachlan. “The boost. That extra...pep...The boost is Faith." she points between them, "Since they’ve hooked up he’s been playing well. There. It’s out there.” She picks up her fork and continues eating her food.

“SHAYNA” Faith leans forward, plopping her elbows on the table dramatically, dropping her head to her hands

Lachlan’s eyes narrow, looking at Shayna before looking to Faith, then lastly to Oliver.

“You can look at him too,” Shayna points her fork at Tristan. “Might as well get him in there so he feels like family.”

Tristan smirks, “Leave me out of this, I am ok over here…” He pokes at his plate his foot tapping Shayna’s under the table.

“Guilty by association, Deni.” Shayna grins. “Because I can tell you right now… if it was assumed… It was gonna be me first.”

"You're not exactly the Virgin Mary, Shayna...need I bring up THE TIE?" Faith cocks her head to the side, a smug look on her face.

"Shut it..." Tristan drops his fork to the plate as he stares at her.

"Don't even go there, HOTTUB!" Shayna smirks leaning forward.

"Tie?" Lachlan looks at Tristan, "Hot tub?" His eyes burn into Oliver.

Faith sighs, looking between Oliver and Lachlan. “DAD, Come on, it’s not that big of a deal…I mean really? Did you think I was still a Virgin?” She raises her eyebrows at him.

Lachlan shifts his gaze to Faith, “Cubby…” he gives her a warning tone.

Lynn pipes up, “Lach...enough. You’re embarrassing them.”

“Dad, I’m an ADULT, I’m allowed to sleep with my boyfriend!” Faith takes a long swig of her water. “I mean honestly, I’m 25…”

Lachlan grumbles in his chair, shooting glares at Oliver.

Oliver stares at his plate, pushing the food around into little piles, shifting awkwardly in his chair.

Tristan speaks up trying to change the subject, “So…. Lachlan. Why do you call Shayna Monster?”

“Because she is one,” Faith shoots her a look.

“Actually, I’ve called Shayna Monster since she was back in high school. She earned it playing soccer, and it kind of just latched on…” Lachlan sat back, relaxing a bit.

“Really?” Tristan smiles, amused.

“Aye” He nods, “You should’ve seen her running around in her wee soccer boots, quite the player.”

“My dad isn’t in to sports. Lach was more of my coach on that front. I used to cause a lot of shin injuries…” Shayna grins. “Four years Varsity.”

“You aggressive?” Oliver laughs. “No…”

Lachlan shoots him another glare.

“LACH” Lynn scolds him raising her voice, “Stop that..right now!”

Lachlan looks back at her, his face softening with a nod. He pats Oliver's back with a sigh, giving him an apologetic look.

“The name stuck with her as well because when she would come over the house, you knew she was there,” Lynn laughs. “The two of them… loud as can be, like little tornadoes...two peas in a pod.”

“That’s why we’re best friends…” Faith looks over at Shayna, “We’re the same person.”

“Always causing trouble those two… I age 40 years every time they’re around...I’ve already aged 100 tonight at dinner alone” He rubbed his head with a chuckle.

Oliver nods to the waiter as he approaches, quickly taking the bill from him.

Tristan looks to Oliver, raising an eyebrow in question. “Anything?”

Oliver shook his head subtly, passing the black folio and his credit card back to the waiter discretely.

Lynn looks over, giving Oliver a disapproving look.

Oliver nods smiling at Lynn. "It's my pleasure, really. You're family." He slides his hand into Faith's under the table, giving it a squeeze.

********

Walking out of the restaurant Faith hands Oliver the keys to her silver Mercedes M-Class SUV as she climbs in the back with Lynn. Lachlan closes the door in the front of the car as they head off towards his condo a few blocks away.

“You’re sure we’re not putting you out by staying at your home, Oliver?” Lynn calls from the back seat.

“Oh of course not, not at all…” Oliver smiles at Lynn through the rearview mirror. “I have tons of room. Three guest bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, plus a big loft space that I’ve pretty much made into my bedroom, a kitchen, a dining room, an entertainment space…a balcony off each bedroom…” He rambles on. “It’s a much bigger place than I need for just myself, I’m glad its being put to use” Oliver smiles, turning to Lachlan briefly, trying to earn brownie points. “When I bought it a few years ago, I was thinking of the future, and how I’d probably end up needing more than something just for me within the next few years, so… I planned ahead a bit.”

“Good grief, sounds like you’ve got yourself a wee castle!” Lachlan chuckles as Oliver describes his condo.

“It’s really cute too!” Faith smiles from the back seat. “It doesn’t feel as big as it sounds, but it’s gorgeous. It has the best view of downtown Seattle too! I love watching the sunrise from be----the balcony. ”

Oliver again looks in the rearview mirror, this time at Faith, smirking at her slip up. He pulls into the parking deck of his building before shutting off the engine. He steps out of the car, pulling Lachlan and Lynn’s bags from the trunk.

Lachlan grabs his bag from him with a nod, while Oliver carries Lynn’s bag in one hand, holding Faith’s hand with the other. They walk into the building where Oliver and Faith are greeted by the guard at the door with warm smiles. After pressing the button for the penthouse Lachlan looks over to Lynn raising an eyebrow with a smile.

The doors of the elevator open to a small entry way with only one set of doors directly in front of them. “It’s also nice and quiet up here since there are no neighbors to deal with…” Faith pulls out her keys unlocking the little silver handle, pushing the large door open. Walking into the foyer Faith’s parents look around wide eyed. They are greeted with cherry hardwood floors running throughout and huge floor to ceiling windows in front of them with downtown Seattle glowing in the night sky.

“Come on in,” Oliver smiles pushing the door closed behind them. “Please, make yourself totally at home, if there’s anything you want or need…just help yourself or ask.” He extends his hand as if to encourage them to move from the doorway. “Let me give you the tour…”He sets Lynn’s bag down pointing to a hallway on his left, “all of the guest rooms are down that side of the house. Feel free to stay in whichever room you’d like. They all have their own bathrooms, and have a small sitting area overlooking the marina.” Oliver smiles at them before walking across the room in front of them. “Living room, the TV is behind those doors, the remotes are all on the table there” he points, “if you turn it on, the doors will open automatically.” Oliver continues past the two plush sofas, turning to the staircase leading up to the loft. “Loft area, basically just where I keep all my junk” Oliver chuckles. “My bedroom, bathroom, balcony…” He smiles at Faith giving her a wink before he turns to the right, walking into the dining area. “Dining room, but I really never use this room…we always just eat in the kitchen. Out these doors is a patio with some chairs, a table, a grill and a little bar area..” he steps beyond the dining room table through the doorway into the kitchen. There is an L shaped breakfast bar with six bar stools attached to a large island in the middle of the room. Big windows look out over the patio.

“My goodness,” Lynn chuckles, “I hope you have a map for us somewhere…”

Faith giggles, “Come on Mom…”

Oliver smiles at her walking back through the dining and living room space heading towards the bedrooms. He pushes open the first door revealing a large bedroom with a dresser, two nightstands, a king-sized bed, and en suite bathroom. French doors lead out onto a small balcony. He turns back to Lachlan and Lynn, who are both standing mouth slightly agape. “This room has the best view…but as I said, you’re welcome to any room you’d like.”

“Mom…Dad” Faith snaps her fingers in front of them to get their attention. “My god you’re acting like you’ve never been in a condo before!” She shakes her head with a chuckle.

“Faith, you never mentioned anything like this! Oliver, your home is amazing!” Lynn gushes, looking around.

“Yeaahhhhh, It’s not too bad, I guess” Oliver chuckles, “please...make yourself at home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the ring Olls shows Shayna so you guys get a better idea of what is was! 
> 
> http://www.tiffany.com/Engagement/Item.aspx?mcat=148203&groupSKU=GRP10021&origin=engagement&search_params=param+0/0/0/0/0/6#p+1-n+1000-c+-s+-r+-t+-ni+1-x+-pu+-f+false+1-lr+-hr+-ri+-mi+-pp+


	16. I knew that this was different from the start....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thanksgiving! Time for some awkward family interactions!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Andy Grammer's song Fine By Me. It seems to fit Shayna and Tristan pretty well.
> 
> This is pretty accurate of how my family pretty much is and how it goes down when my family meets anyone.

Shanya pulls her black Audi Q3 up outside of Tristan’s building’s lobby putting it in park to wait for him to emerge, pushing her sunglasses up to sit on top of her head. A few minutes later the glass door swings open, Tristan striding out with his black carry on bag in hand. He’s dressed comfortably in jeans, black Nike sneakers, and a black hoodie from his friend’s clothing company. Black RayBan sunglasses sit in his soft but messy dark brown hair. He nods to the back of the truck as Shayna hits the button automatically opening the trunk door. He drops his bag next to hers then steps back for her to close it.

“Hey,” Tristan smiles climbing in to the passenger seat leaning over to give Shanya a kiss. “You sure you don’t want me to drive?” he asks sitting back grabbing the seat belt, clicking it in place.

“Nah, it’s ok. Plus if we show up in your truck my dad might want it,” she laughs placing her sunglasses back on her face. “Obviously I know how to get there, I just feel better driving. Or you don’t like me driving is what you’re saying?”

“No it’s not that. Your truck is a little… small,” he reaches down adjusting the seat all the way back, stretching his long legs out.

“Faith usually sits there,” she shrugs pulling the small SUV out on to the street heading in the direction of the highway. “Sorry all of us aren’t 6’4” giants.” She pauses, biting on her lower lip. “So are you sure you wanna do this before I get on the highway. I can swing back around….” she smirks glancing over at him as he pulls his sunglasses down on his face.

“I’m so ready,” Tristan nods, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly. “I don’t think you’re ready for how much they’re going to love me.”

“Please, my mom already knows about you. You’re on the fridge for christ sake. That picture of us from the BBQ, yeah, that’s up with the rest of the family photos,” Shayna blushes. “She’s been waiting for this day since I first uttered your name.”

Tristan laughs, his hand grabbing hers on the center console giving it a squeeze, “That sounds so cute..”

Shayna rolls her eyes, turning the music up louder as they enter the highway heading north. “We will be there in about a half hour.”

Tristan nods, “I will not be subjected to One Direction the entire time though right? I’ll throw myself on the 5 right now,” he pouts, extending his lower lip out at her.

Shayna laughs clicking a button on her steering wheel. “Happily” by One Direction starts blaring from the stereo speakers. “For the record I didn’t even have them on, but you asked for this soooo….. WE’RE ON FIRE, WE ARE ON FIRE, WE’RE ON FIREEEE NOWWWW….. YEAH WE’RE ON FIRE, WE ARE ON FIRE NOWWWW, I DON’T CARE WHAT PEOPLE SAY WHEN WE’RE TOGETHER, YOU KNOW I WANNA BE THE ONE WHO HOLDS YOU IN YOUR SLEEP, I JUST WANT IT TO BE YOU AND I FOREVERRRR, I KNOW YOU WANNA LEAVE SO COME ON BABY BE WITH ME SO HAPPILY..….” Shayna sings along with the song bouncing in her seat. “Hey! Are you videoing me?”

“I took some pictures but, I mean video seems like it would be good right now,” Tristan holds his phone up at her grinning.

“Fine, fine,” Shanya scoffs turns the music down clicking the button again, Ed Sheeran starts strumming softly through the speakers. “It is my car you know.”

“Obviously,” he chuckles as he holds his phone out leaning slightly to her, taking a picture of both of them.

“What are you doing with that?” she asks glancing at him tapping away on his phone. “Have I started to rub off on you, taking pictures at random times?”

Tristan shrugs putting his phone back in his pocket, “Are you the only one allowed to take pictures?”

“I didn’t say that, just wondering…”

“I was taking a picture,” he smiles, turning to look out the window. “I’m putting it on Instagram.”

They ride in silence for the rest of the highway, the music the only sound filling the car.

Shayna turns looking over at Tristan as they wait at a traffic light on the small road just off the main road. “So I guess I can fill you in on my family before we get there.” Tristan nods waiting for her speak. “My sister is a comic book fanatic. She currently works in Vancouver for a branch of DC comics for the west coast. She’s a bit of a nerd, but is adorable. Also don’t tell her she looks like she’s about 10. She’s tiny but feisty and 22. My older brothers are NOT twins, so for the love of god, don’t comment on it. I don’t get their problem with that but whatever. They both co-own a car shop. My one brother likes sports, he’s in to hockey but purely spectator. I’m pretty sure he knows who you are, I have no idea. The other one couldn’t care less but if you talk cars or trucks, he’s better at that. My dad is retired now, he likes to fish and mostly spends his time at my brothers’ shop. He also doesn’t like sports at all, so he won’t know who you are unless my mother has told him. My mom owns her own little cafe here in town, mostly a hot spot for all the women in town to hang out and gossip at. It’s also one of the best places for coffee in the area. That about rounds it out.”

Tristan nods again at her taking in all the information she just gave him. “Gotcha….”

They drive another couple of minutes off the main town road, down a road in a heavily wooded area, the trees creating a canopy over the road, the sun barely shining through the thick branches and leaves. They pass a couple driveways here and there, small cutouts in the large forest with roads that seem to disappear into the woods. Shayna finally turns off the road onto one of the nicer paved driveways marked by brick pillars with small silver lights sitting on top.  They follow the driveway around a small bend to a large clearing. A large log cabin style house with a huge wraparound porch sits neatly in the center, a large four door garage off to the right of the house with a blue car sitting in front of one of the doors, a pretty lake sits behind the house painting the backdrop of such a beautiful property.

Shayna drives her truck up to one of the doors of the garage doors closest to the house stopping just short of the door. A loud motor sounds behind the car just as she shuts off the engine of her SUV, followed by an air horn. She whips the door open, hopping out waving her arms around. “Are you serious? What? I’m leaving my truck right here…. just fucking deal with it!” she yells over the motor. Tristan can hear another voice speak out as Shayna flips the finger at whoever it is. “I’ll just tell mom!” The motor revs, taking off down the driveway. Tristan can see an ATV quad speeding into the trees, a helmeted driver at the wheel. He looks at her with a raised eyebrow as she turns back grabbing her keys from the console.

Shayna shrugs with a pout at him. “My brother, of course he has something to say about where I park my car as usual. Four doors on the garage and apparently I always pick the wrong one….” she presses the button for the trunk, grabbing her purse and shuts her door. Tristan laughs as he gets out of the car behind her shutting his door, walking to the back of the truck, each of them grabbing their own bag. He puts his hand on her back gently rubbing between her shoulder blades as they walk up the large porch to the front door.

“SHAYNA!” the front door whips open, the wreath rattling against the wood. A shorter, smaller version of Shayna with lighter brown hair runs out the door almost tackling her to the ground, Shayna drops her bag, falling back a little from the impact. Tristan pushes them forward, his hand still on Shayna’s back. “Oh my god I missed you!” mini-Shayna squeals clutching her thin arms around Shayna.

“This is my sister Danielle,” Shayna looks up at Tristan with a smile, wincing slightly at the tightness of the hug. “Dani, please let go. Your boney little arms are killing me. I missed you too.”

Danielle squeezes a little harder before letting go, stepping back she grins at Shayna. “I have so much to tell you about Vancouver. You have to come up and visit me soon. Oh, hello,” she turns looking up at Tristan who stands a good foot taller than her. “Mom said you were tall, but god damn.”

“Dani, this is Tristan, obviously,” Shayna laughs grabbing her bag from the ground. “Where’s mom?”

“She’s inside. MOM! MOM! SHAYNA AND TRISTAN ARE HERE!” Danielle yells walking back through the open front door.

They follow Danielle into the front hallway, dark wood floor expands from wall to wall, warm grey walls go from floor to ceiling, pictures and other various decorations decorate the walls. A large carpeted staircase leads to the second floor, a ornate metal chandelier sits in the middle dropping from the high ceiling.

Shayna taps Tristan’s arm nodding in the direction down the hallway taking his attention away from the pictures he was looking at. “Here, give me your bag. I’m just gonna leave them here at the stairs before we go in the kitchen,” she holds her hand out to him, dropping her own bag to the floor, accepting his and dropping it next to hers. “And off we go…” Shayna takes a deep breath leading him down the hall into the kitchen.

“Shay!” Shayna’s mom shouts as she stands from the center island bar where she was sitting looking over a magazine and drinking a cup of tea. She walks over to them as they enter the huge open kitchen and den area. “Welcome Tristan! I’m so excited you’re here! Shayna’s been telling us all about you! I’m Anne by the way.” she holds her hand out to him, shaking his firmly. Tristan notices she looks just like Shayna, a little bit shorter with black longer hair, just a touch older looking.

“Thank you for having me,” he smiles with excitement.

“Come, come, sit down. Can I get you something to drink?” Anne ushers them to the bar top grabbing her magazine and cup off as she comes around to the main counter. “We have just about anything you could think of. Or I could make you something? Coffee, espresso, I make a pretty decent latte!”

“Water should be fine,” Tristan nods as he takes a seat.

“Mom, calm yourself, please.” Shayna blushes sliding on the seat next to Tristan.

Anne takes two bottles of water out of the large stainless steel double doored refrigerator, laughing as she taps the picture of the two of them among the rest of the photos tacked to the surface. “Oh, Tristan you’ve already been a part of the family. I’ve had this picture here for a while since Shayna first sent it to me. I hope you don’t mind, it does seem a little creepy…. I’m sorry,” she laughs as she hands each of them a bottle.

Shanya drops her head to the cool countertop, holding her hand out to take the bottle. “For christ sake…” she mumbles from under her arm.

“So for dinner your father is barbecuing as usual. I hope you brought your appetite, Tristan, it’s going to be a decent spread. Oh and your aunt is probably stopping by with your cousins,” Anne mills about the counter, straightening up a pile of papers tucked in to the corner.

“Why not have the whole family over.” Shayna sighs, taking a sip of her bottle. “Everyone acts like I’ve never had a boyfriend or something.”

“Well I mean not since Jona--- yeah….” Anne cuts off looking at Shayna glare at her with an angry look. “Sorry. Why don’t you show Tristan around. I have to go stop at the shop anyway. Dinner will be at 6:30. I’ll see you kids later. Oh your father was out in the garage somewhere with your brothers and those damn ATVs.”

“Thanks mom,” Shanya grimaces as she watches Anne grab her keys from the end of the counter and walking out to the hallway.

“Well that was nice,” Tristan coos with a smirk turning in his chair towards Shayna. “No boyfriends here for a long time eh?”

“No. This is why. Also because I haven’t really had anything serious enough to bring anyone home to the parents. Come on, we’ll bring the bags upstairs and then I’ll show you around.” Shayna slides off the chair, walking around the counter to grab a marker. She writes her name on the bottle as she turns to open the fridge. “You wanna keep yours or are you done?”

Tristan tosses the empty bottle at her as he hops off his chair. “It’s really not that bad, although I can imagine later the questions will start coming out.”

“Oh it’s going to be interesting for sure.” Shayna walks out to the main hallway grabbing her bag as she walks up the stairs to the second level. “So, grand tour…. you can look at the pictures later, come on. Ok, second floor. That door is Dani’s room. This is the second floor main bathroom. At the end of the hall, the double doors there is my parents room. This one is guest room number one which was my brother Brandon’s room. Next to here is my mom’s home office which was my brother Damian’s room. And this one here was my room, now guest room number two.” Shayna stops at the door pushing it open.

“Oh you mean it’s been redecorated, sad.” Tristan pouts as they enter the room. “I was kinda hoping it was going to be the same from when you were younger.”

“I haven’t lived here since college. It was the same until I graduated and started living in Seattle since I started working right away. There’s still some of my dance, soccer and gymnastics trophies that my mom can’t part with and I told her I wasn’t taking with me. Just little bits here and there.” Shayna shrugs as she drops her bag next to the large light wood dresser holding out her hand to the trophies sitting on the top. “Also the color, this purple that’s the same. My pictures are still hanging from then, too. She still has my soccer jersey framed.”

Tristan looks around as he drops his bag next to Shayna’s, walking over to the wall to look at the pictures in the collage frames hanging. He notices a younger looking Shayna and Faith with various other friends, all different times and situations, studying each one.

"Come on, we'll go outside and I'll show you around out there," Shayna tries to get his attention as she steps to the doorway, waiting for him. "Any day now..."

He turns smiling "You were just as cute back then as you are now. Must have been a blast to hang out with. You've known Faith for a long time?"

"What do you mean must have been? I am still plenty fun," she sticks her bottom lip out at him. "Yes, Faith and I have been friends for like years. We used to live next door to each other. Most of those pictures are from college. Sorority and all that..."

Tristan follows Shayna down the stairs as she continues to point out rooms. "Formal living room, I don't know why we have one, no one is allowed in there." She continues walking through. "Dining room only for fancy dinners." They enter back into the kitchen. "Obviously the kitchen but it's also the den aka where you can find pretty much almost anyone in my family at any given time.... Except now apparently," she explains as they step down into the large room. Couches line the far wall, a huge TV is over the stone fireplace, a large wooden bar is on the opposite wall closer to where they walked in. "My family is so huge most parties take place here so hence the bar. We are Irish and Italian so it's kinda customary to have a bar in your home. "

Shayna walks across the room to the wall of glass windows to the double doors opening them to a stone patio. Slate stone covers most of the area, plush patio furniture is arranged almost like a living room with a firepit it in the center all overlooks the large grassy hill leading down to the lake front. A huge in ground pool sits just past the patio with a small stone building to the right.

"We have the patio, firepit which we will take full advantage of later, pool and cabana. My dad's barbeque center is just over there to the right. We have a boat house down the end of the path there with the boat and jet skis. There’s a small apartment on the second floor of the boat house for when some of my family stays. And now off to see if my dad is even here..." Shayna points to the path leading around the side of the house to the fence.

"This is all so pretty. So much land..." Tristan whistles looking around.

"Yeah my dad started hating living in the city so we moved out here when I was in high school. They've recently redone a lot of the house obviously.... It was a little more simpler then," she unhooks the latch on the fence letting Tristan walk ahead of her down the path. They walk together up to the garage noticing the second door open. A tall older man with reddish grey hair and glasses is talking to a tall dark haired bearded man with tattoos down his arm.

"Dad!" Shayna waves as the redhaired man looks to her with a big grin, his arms out for a hug.

"I thought this was your truck. Your brother was bitching about it," he laughs.

"Tristan, this is my dad Patrick and my brother Brandon," Shayna steps back so Tristan can walk up.

"Very nice to meet you both," he holds his hand out to each of them.

"There must be something special about you if Shayna's brought you here. She never brings anyone home..." Patrick laughs as he puts his arm around Shayna's shoulder.

"Probably because there is a lot of woods to hide bodies," Brandon states calmly, a serious look on his face.

"Oh my god..." Shayna moans sulking. "Embarrassments both of you."

An ATV roars up the driveway stopping right in front of them. The drive shuts it off as they take off their helmet. An almost exact copy of Brandon with a little a touch lighter hair stands dropping the helmet to the leather seat. "Shayna move your piece of Euro trash away from the garage thanks."

"Damian, don't talk to your sister like that. Her truck is fine." Patrick scolds her brother.

“Piss off thanks.” Shayna smiles sarcastically “This is my brother Damian. Come on Tristan, we can go walk down to the water. Dad, let me know if you need help with dinner.”

“Yes, actually, can you make your potatoes? I made sure to get everything you need.” Patrick asks stopping them from leaving.

“Of course I can. Dinner is at 6:30? So I’ll have them prepped in a bit to start roasting.” Shayna smiles again turning towards the door. “I’ll let you know when they’re ready.” She pushes Tristan to the door with one hand, the other waving.

Shayna leads him back down the path to the backyard towards the gate.

“You can cook?” Tristan asks as they walk through the gate to the patio.

“Yes, I can and pretty well actually. I love cooking it’s just with the office and late nights it’s hard most of the time.” Shayna walks up the patio to the den and through to the kitchen, Tristan following her. “Just hang out here, it won’t take me long to put this together,” she points to the island bar top as she starts rummaging through the kitchen.

She grabs the bag of red potatoes, a few peppers and an onion from the basket next to the fridge dropping them on the island. Looking around she spots the cabinet with spices, opening the small door she takes out a handful of random small bottles, a large bottle of olive oil and lastly grabs a clove of garlic. She counts the items on the counter turning to grab a cutting board, a knife and a foil pan from the large pantry closet.

Tristan watches interested as she organizes everything in front of her, setting the pan out, drizzling it with olive oil. She rinses the potatoes in the small prep sink next to her and begins chopping everything up.

“You’re pretty decent at this,” he muses watching her cut the peppers up. “Like a natural in the kitchen. What else do you do?”

“I can make all sorts of stuff. I’m not a good baker though, Dani is much better at that. I would cook you dinner one night if you would like if we can figure out a day where it’s not busy,” Shayna shrugs as she continues chopping.

“I would like that,” Tristan smiles.

Fifteen minutes later, Shayna is finishing off the tray with the minced garlic and spices. She drizzles some more olive oil over everything and tosses it together, finishing with a piece of foil on top.

“That smells so good even though it’s not even cooked yet.”

“Thanks,” Shayna blushes as she washes her hands in the sink. She dries them off on a towel. “We can leave this on the grill for my dad and take a walk down to the water if you want to.”

Tristan nods sliding off his chair walking with Shayna outside to the grill. She leaves the tray on the countertop next to the grill, holding her hand out for Tristan to take as she walks to the path to the water.

A small matching cabin sits on the edge just before a large, long dock juts out onto the water. There’s a large slide on the end of the dock, large wooden adirondack chairs line up looking across the lake. Shayna walks up to the cabin, opening the door nodding for Tristan to follow her. Inside a large boat sits in the cutout of the floor just suspended up above the water, a small walkway lines the left side allowing access to the front of the boat house. All sorts of storage lines the walls, a paddle boat sits against the wall next to a kayak, a pile of life jackets are stacked up on the countertop.  On the right side a set of stairs leads to the upper level of the house.

Shayna walks up the stairs opening the door flipping on the light, Tristan still following behind her. They walk into the large room which looks like a studio apartment, a small kitchenette  without a stove sits to the left with a small breakfast bar, a living room set and wall unit with a large tv sits to the right, beyond that a large bed sits against the left wall with a set of french doors leading to a small balcony outside, lastly a door leads to the small bathroom on the right side.

“This is really nice,” Tristan looks around at the decorated room. “Why aren’t we staying out here?”

“Do you want to? It just gets a little cold….” Shayna asks as she walks to the doors opening them. “It’s pretty at night with the stars over the lake.”

“I’ll keep you warm,” he whispers in her ear, wrapping his arms around her shoulders pulling her flush to him as they stand at the door looking out at the water. Shayna sighs resting her head on his arm, her hands intertwining with his. He begins placing soft kisses along her neck, his hand slowly massaging her shoulder. She whimpers leaning back into his embrace, dropping her hands behind her back to the front of his jeans. "Mmmm, Shayna," his accent thick in between kisses. "Don't start something you're not going to finish, sweetheart."

Shayna giggles, her hand palming his growing bulge, gently rubbing "Oh you know I can finish, Deni.”

Tristan chuckles looking at his watch. “We do have some time before dinner, but do you want to walk back to the house to get our bags looking freshly fucked?”

“Better keep it neat and quick then…” Shayna turns in Tristan’s arms, drapping her arms on his shoulders pulling him to her, their mouths crashing together.

Tristan reaches down picking Shayna up, her legs wrapping around his hips as he turns to the large king size bed laying them down together.

Shayna giggles rolling them so she is straddling Tristan’s jean clad thighs. She sits up pulling her grey sweater off tossing it to the floor below them. Reaching down she grabs the bottom of Tristan’s black sweatshirt pushing it up his stomach. Chuckling while watching her struggle, he sits up raising his arms helping her pull the hoodie over his head leaving his tshirt. Shayna tosses it aside, continuing her assault on his mouth, her hands running through his short dark hair.

Tristan runs his hands down her sides, fingers inching under the soft cotton of her white tshirt running over her smooth skin. He pulls her tight to him closing the gap between them, the friction causing both of them to moan.

“Mmm, hold on,” Tristan leans back breaking their connection. “We don’t have our bags up here, I don’t have a condom or anything.”

Shayna lips turn up into a sly grin, lightly chuckling as she reaches into her back pocket producing a foil packet with a shrug. “What did you think I brought you up here for? For the breathtaking scenery of the lake? Perhaps the lush forest? You enjoying that mountain landscape?” she muses pointing out the doors to the right of them.

“Did you think I would be that easy?” Tristan laughs, his fingers tickling her sides causing her to giggle and squirm in his arms. He pulls her close again, rolling so she’s laying on her back underneath him, her legs still locked around his thighs. He rocks his hips forward teasing her.

“Shayna?” a voice from the first floor sounds along with the door slamming. “Are you around? I’m announcing myself so I don’t walk into anything awkward. Get off each other….”

Shayna pouts, letting go of Tristan’s arms. “It’s Dani,” she whines. “Why does everyone enjoy interrupting us?”

Tristan laughs leaning down placing a kiss on her lips before he backs off the bed. He picks up his sweatshirt and her sweater from the floor, catching a glance of his jeans, shaking his head. “I’ll be in the bathroom a minute.” He turns heading to the bathroom, softly closing the door.

Dani knocks on the door slowly opening it sticking her hand in. “Hey, you guys. Is it ok to come in?”

“Yeah nothing’s going on,” Shayna sighs still laying on the bed. “I’m just laying here.”

“Hey sorry. Where’s Tristan?” Dani walks in looking around.

“Just showing him around and he had to go to the bathroom,” Shayna sits up.

“I figured you two would be making out or something equally obnoxious. Anyway, Mom’s back, Dad’s started cooking. Aunt Dee is here.” Dani rolls her eyes at the mention of her aunt, looking around the room. “You guys gonna stay out here? You should…”

“I think we will.” Shayna nods sitting up just as Tristan emerges from the bathroom. “Family is here. Ready for the inquisition?”

*******

Shayna pulls Tristan’s sweatshirt over her head, adjusting it over herself pulling the hood up as she steps out to the small deck of the boathouse. She sits down on the small wicker couch laying the knit blanket across her pajama pants pulling her legs up underneath herself. The moon is full just above the trees, reflecting off the water with a sparkle in the soft wake. Shayna sighs contently looking out across the lake.

Tristan walks out the doors pulling his sweatshirt on over his black tee looking down at Shayna. “Scoot over,” he smiles patting her legs.

“God your big ass is too much for this little couch,” Shayna laughs moving as far back as she can against the armrest, unfolding her legs so he could sit down. He picks her legs up placing them on his lap, pulling her close to him, adjusting the blanket across them.

“Mmm, but last I heard someone liked this ass…. something about hockey pants and what was it? Compression shorts?” Tristan mocks her, placing his arm around her shoulders.

“Don’t let it know that… it might get bigger,” Shayna giggles, snuggling into Tristan’s side.

“So that wasn’t that bad. Your family is fun to hang around, there’s a lot of them though. They all just kinda showed up out of no where,” Tristan kisses the top of her head. “I didn’t mind half of the questions they were asking.”

“Well you invite one over and all of a sudden everyone has to show up. Plus my brothers’ friends are like family. It always somehow turns into a party here. It’s all in good fun though. We’re all so close. I don’t know what it’s like to be in a smaller family.”

“Some of the stories they were telling about you…. so funny. I liked the one about you and Faith and the boy bands. You guys traveled all over for them…. that’s crazy. A lot of the stories were with Faith.”

“So embarrassing,” Shayna whines pulling the hood of the sweatshirt down covering her eyes. “Yes, we pretty much did and still do everything together. She’s practically another member of the family. You could see how upset my mom was that she wasn’t coming.”

“I want you to meet my family.” Tristan blurts out, rubbing his face with his free hand nervously.

Shayna smiles looking up at Tristan. “Really?”

“Yeah, I just don’t know when but it would mean a lot to me if you did. Usually I go home for Christmas break and I would want you to come but I don’t want to take you away from your family.”

“Oh, I see. I don’t think anyone would mind missing me for a holiday...”

“Maybe I can work something out.” he shrugs looking out at the water. They sit in silence for a bit, the quietness of the lake calming. “Shayna…”

“Yeah?” she turns pushing the hood back some to see his face, her head leaning back on his arm resting on the couch.

“Thank you for bringing me here. I had fun with your family. It made me realize that I am really thankful for you.” Tristan keeps his face straight, still looking out to the water.

Shayna raises an eyebrow picking her head up from his arm. “You’re welcome?”

“I…” he starts, pausing for a beat, his hand automatically going to his face rubbing gently. “I am just thankful for you. Thankful to have met you, properly. Thankful that I actually said something to you. Thankful for the love you show me on and off the ice. Thankful that you’re there for me.” He turns to Shayna, his blue eyes honest, a slight smile on his face. “Shayna, I love you. I love everything about you. It scares me a little how much I love you because I’ve never…. never felt this. I want to be around you all the time. I get so excited when I see you either at the office, watching me at warm ups, just hanging out together or with our friends or just falling asleep together. You mean so much to me…”

Shayna sniffles, a smile spread across her face. “Tristan....” she giggles. “That was absolutely beautiful. No one has ever said anything like that to me.” She slides over fully sitting on his lap, grabbing his face in her hands. “Tristan Deniau, I absolutely love you too.”

“You do?” he asks, looking in to her eyes, his features relaxing slightly.

“Was that ever a question?” she asks confused.

“I was just nervous that it was more the lust over the last 3 years.”

“Fuck no. I know you. I love you Tristan. I mean I lust Tristan Deniau number 22 of the Seattle Scarlet and his sexy ass especially in those hockey pants,” she bites her lip, slight smirk on her face. “But he’s just a tiny bit of my Tristan. My Tristan, my boyfriend the one who puts up with my sassy shit, gives me his sweatshirt when I’m cold, is so protective of me, who looks adorable passed out during naptime with a little drool on the side of his mouth and his sleepy hair, the one who tucks me under his arm keeping me close placing the cutest little kiss to my head. My boyfriend who pulls my hair and lets me tie him up so I could fuck his brains out. I love that Tristan.”

He smiles, his dimples coming out as he pulls her close to him, pressing his lips to hers, kissing her softly.

“We should head to bed… big day tomorrow. You’ll need your rest to deal with my family,” Shayna smirks as she lays her head on his shoulder.

“Sounds good… it’s getting chilly out here anyway…” Tristan wraps his arms around Shayna, scooping her up as he stands walking into the main room of the small apartment. He places her on the bed, turning to close the doors to the deck.

Shayna slides off the bed to the closet pulling the comforters out and places them on the bed.

Tristan tosses back the comforters Shayna laid out across the bed with a raised eyebrow, “How many of these does a person need? There’s like 4 here…”

“I’m sorry, it gets really cold here. I put the heat on but it always gets kinda brisk. I’m just making sure,” she shrugs. “I was actually considering socks.”

“Is it going to freeze out here or something? Should we have really have stayed in the main house?” Tristan slides under the comforter.

“No, it’s not. I just get worried. I’m always cold. Then again, when I was out here I was by myself,” Shanya slides in next to him folding back the blankets.

“I’ll keep you warm…” Tristan rolls to his side holding his arms out to her.

Shayna smiles as she rolls into Tristan, his arms circling her, pulling her tight to his warm body. “This is nice,” she whispers rubbing her face on his shirt, snuggling closer to him. “I love you, Tristan.”

“I love you Shayna…” Tristan smiles kissing her forehead.

*******

“Oh so you’re the one on the fridge…” Shayna’s cousin Melanie looks at Tristan with narrow eyes as they stand at the bar top in the den. “How’d you pull that one off Shay?”

“Shut up…” Shayna scoffs from behind the bar looking through the bottles on the back cabinet of the bar, picking up bottles and gently placing them back down. “Here we go…” she picks up a clear glass bottle.

“How’s that dickbag Reilly doing? Have you heard from him?” Connor, Melanie’s brother spins around on his chair.

“The both of you…. really?” Shayna pours some vodka into the shaker in her hand, giving Tristan as sympathetic look.

“Just asking… you hardly ever bring anyone home. It’s just a question. This one’s definitely better looking,” Melanie whispers the last part with a nod at Tristan.

“Thanks, I guess?” Tristan grins taking a sip of his drink.

“Shayna, do we have more of those little napkins on the back bar there?” Pat walks in from the patio. “They should be on the bar for drinks. Tristan, you have a drink? You ok?”

Tristan nods holding his glass up, “I’m good, Shayna’s taken care of me.”

“I’m sure she has….” Melanie snickers walking into the kitchen with her glass.

“For fuck’s sake…” Shayna slams the shaker on the bar. “I can’t deal with this. I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Tristan laughs, his cheeks slightly red.

“Tristan! Tristan!” Anne yells from the kitchen, waving her hand to catch his attention. “Come in here and meet my sister!”

“Mom, come on… we’re in here.” Shanya pours out the shaker into a few small glasses leaning over trying to catch a glimpse of her mother. “Who ever wants to talk has to come in here. Tristan is not going to parade around the house ok?”

“So here you are! Shayna! It’s lovely to see you,” Shayna’s Aunt Maggie walks into the den with her arms outstretched for a hug.

“Hey Aunt Maggie…” Shayna walks out from the bar giving her aunt a hug.

“Too important to come up and visit anymore hmm? That team keeping you busy?” Maggie shakes her head.

“Yes, very busy in the city… You know me. Just all over the place,” Shayna smiles walking back around the bar to finish what she was doing. “Just busy. I’ve been promoted some so now I have to go on away trips too. It’s been fun.”

“And who is this? Hi, I’m Shayna’s Aunt Maggie…” Maggie holds her hand out to Tristan.

“Tristan, I’m Shayna’s boyfriend,”Tristan stands holding his hand out her.

“Jesus boy, you’re tall,” Maggie shakes his hand looking up at him.

“No, everyone in this family is just short…” Shayna snorts. “Except me.”

“How did you two meet? I can’t believe Shayna has a boyfriend home for a holiday.” Maggie claps her hands together as she slides on the chair next to him. “You must tell me all about it. And Shayna, give me whatever you’re making. I’m sure it will be good.”

Tristan chuckles at Shayna with a shoulder shrug. “Well, I play on the Seattle Scarlet. I met Shayna there.”

“You actually play for the team?” Maggie smiles. “Wait, that’s right, you’re the one on the fridge! You finally got your hockey player Shay!”

“Aunt Maggie! That’s horrible, don’t say that.” Shayna sighs, putting down the paring knife and lime. “You make me sound like I’m hockey player crazy or something.”

“There is no other reason why such a pretty, smart, and talented girl such as yourself would continue following such a violent sport! Sorry Tristan, I’m sure you’re pretty good and all…” Maggie pats his arm. “Granted your grandfather has been in hockey for years, decades even but you could have been in any other profession. Cooking even! You could have your own restaurant at this point. You did all that time for culinary.”

“Maggie, stop whatever you’re talking about. Don’t be mean to the kids,” Shayna’s grandfather Edward stands in the doorway. “Shayna love, come give me a hug…”  

“Grandpa!” Shayna drops the knife on the cutting board running to her grandfather, wrapping her arms around him. “It’s literally been forever!”

“Are the Scarlet taking care of you? I hear such good things about you from the front office. I’m so proud,” he smiles hugging her back tightly. He looks up at Tristan “And is that Tristan Deniau sitting at your father’s bar?”

“Tristan,” Shayna lets go of her grandfather as she turns to wave, “come over here. This is my grandfather Edward Donaghue. Grandpa, this is Tristan Deniau, as you know already, my boyfriend.”

Tristan walks over offering his hand to Edward, “Coach Donoghue, pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“Ah, you can drop the coach, you’re not one of my team and we’re in a casual setting. It is my pleasure to meet you though. You’re a fabulous defenseman. Gotta work on not jumping in on those rushes though, can’t always be on the offensive. Great effort nonetheless and your shot, if finely tuned you would be unstoppable.” Edward nods shaking Tristan’s hand.

“Thank you sir. It means a lot coming from you…” Tristan shakes his head in agreement.

Shayna grins sliding her arm around Tristan’s waist looking up at him. “I’m quite proud of him.”

“Oh, someone get a camera! Shayna’s in love… holy shit!” Melanie scoffs looking in the doorway from the kitchen. “Quick! Before it goes away!” She holds up her phone snapping a picture.

“Shut your face Melanie…” Shayna rolls her eyes, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

Tristan smirks pulling her close to him, his arms circling her. “You’re adorable…”  he whispers as he kisses her forehead.

********

“So how did you and Shayna meet again?” Shayna’s Aunt Eleanor asks handing Tristan a serving plate of mashed potatoes. “I wasn’t here for the all the conversations…”

“They didn’t say…” Aunt Maggie pipes up from across the table. “Other than Tristan plays for the Scarlet.”

“Story time! I love story time!” Shayna’s cousin Stephanie claps her hands together with a smirk. “Should be a good one… Shayna’s not an easy person to deal with relationship wise.”

“For the love of Jesus can everyone just lay off me?” Shayna drops her fork to the table with a clanging noise. “He gets it… I don’t do relationships. No need to constantly bring it up.”

“Shayna honey… calm down,” Anne looks at her from the head of the table. “We’re just curious.”

Tristan pats Shayna’s leg from under the tablecloth giving her a squeeze. “It’s ok. They’re just teasing.”

“Fine. So… as you all know I work for the Scarlet, Tristan plays for the them. I’ve had a crush on him for forever since he first came up three years ago. You’ve all seen the picture on the dumb fridge. The last three seasons have been amusing. We would watch each other, he would tease me for some reason, I would be super annoying…” Shayna starts, still obviously annoyed.

“Something just clicked at the beginning of the season. I don’t know what it was. I’ve always seen her around in the office, at practice or at games. It was like I saw her with fresh eyes. She literally ran into me during a game, she had my jersey in her hand and was so nervous. We saw each other later after the game with all of our friends so I bought her a drink. The next time I asked her to come skating with me on the ice at the arena so we could talk without everyone around. We had a few dates, hung out a bit and here we are now.” Tristan smiles, poking at the turkey on his plate with his fork.

“That sounds lovely!” Eleanor coos looking over at them. “You two look so happy! Good for you Shayna!”

“Yeah mostly because he’s so damn hot…” Stephanie mutters from across the table. “When can you start bringing me to games?”

Shayna glares at her cousin, “Never.”

Stephanie wrinkles her nose at her, “Fine, jesus, don’t hook the rest of us up. Tristan do you have siblings? Younger ones?” she winks at him.

“Um, no. Well yes, I have a brother, but he’s older and married,” Tristan chuckles. “No one younger though. Sorry…”

“Damn,” Stephanie pouts as she looks at her plate. “Not fair.”

“Yeah so, anyway…” Shayna cleans the last bit of potatoes off of her plate. “if you are all done with the questions.” she stands from the table picking up her plate. “Let me know when it’s time to clean up. Tristan?” pushing the chair out she nods in the direction of the kitchen for him to follow her.

Tristan stands from the table taking his plate “Everything was really good,” he smiles as he follows Shayna into the kitchen.

“You are so lucky you come from a smaller family…” Shayna looks over at him from behind the island counter placing plates and other items into the dishwasher below. “It’s just always questions and comments about what I should be doing or how it should be done.”

“It wasn’t bad. All they wanted to know was how we met and whatever,” Tristan laughs handing her his plate to put in the dishwasher.

“I love my family but sometimes, it’s just the extended ones I can’t stand,” Shayna shuts the dishwasher door walking around the island to Tristan holding her arms out.

“Everyone has them. It will be ok,” Tristan chuckles pulling her into him for a hug, kissing her forehead. He cups her chin, tilting her face up as he drops his mouth to hers, softly kissing her.

“Mmm, I needed that,” Shayna giggles as they break apart smiling up at Tristan. “Always so good at calming me down. Really though, I’m ready to head home.”

 

“I’m glad I got to meet your family, but it will be good to be back home and back to normal for us,” Tristan hugs her close.

  
“I don’t ever get this stressed out at the office,” Shayna sighs into Tristan’s shirt. “We’ll be home soon enough.” 

 


	17. Because someday I might know my heart...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanksgiving with the McCalliums! Buckle up for some more family goodness! Hahaha!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "You Give Me Something" by James Morrison. (You're welcome Faith! hehe)

The smell of Ollie’s famous blueberry pancakes and the gentle sound of dishes clanging together woke Faith from her sleep. Wandering downstairs in one of Oliver’s Scarlet hoodies and a pair of his boxers, she took in the sight in front of her. Oliver stood pressed against the far counter, shirtless, his black sweatpants hanging low off his hips. Faith stood quietly at the breakfast bar, watching him cook, the soft music from of his iPhone echoing through the kitchen as he cracked another couple of eggs into the mixing bowl. Faith couldn’t help but admire his physique, his broad shoulders tanned and toned, the muscles firing as he whipped the batter in the bowl. His slim torso, sitting above the most perfect bubble butt any woman would love to squeeze. If hockey players had one advantage, it was that they had the best asses around.

Faith walks quietly over towards the counter, sliding her arms around Oliver from behind. “You’re such a good housewife, baby.” Faith smiles into his back, pressing her lips against his shoulder.

Oliver chuckles, setting the bowl down on the counter as he turns to face her, “Good morning, beautiful.” He cups her face, placing a kiss on her lips, “How long have you been standing there?” The flour from his hands leaving a little white smudge on her cheeks.

“Long enough to salivate over that sexy ass of yours in those sweatpants…” Faith grins giving it a playful pat. “It’s a damn shame my parents are just across the living room…”

One of Faith’s favorite songs, ‘You Give Me Something’, comes on Oliver’s iPhone, bringing a huge smile to her face. “You put this on your phone? You don’t even like this song…”

“I like it…because you like it.” He slides his hand up into hers, taking a step back from the counter. “Come here…” he slides his other hand around her waist, pulling her close. “Dance with me.”

Faith rests her head on his bare shoulder, her free hand resting on his hip as they sway slowly to the music. “Can we just do this every day...every morning?” She spoke softly, her eyes closed.

“I wouldn’t mind that one bit” Oliver places a kiss on the top of her head, resting his cheek against her head.

Lynn, hearing the music coming from the kitchen, walks across the room slowly, stopping at the entryway at the sight before her, smiling from ear to ear. She quietly raises her phone snapping a few pictures of them dancing.

“Moments like this make me fall even more in love with you, Faith McCallium.” He speaks softly, his fingers lightly rubbing her side.

Faith looks up at him, a smile on her lips, "How'd I get so lucky?"

"You are pretty lucky, aren't you?" Oliver smirks, tickling the soft spot on her side causing Faith to squeal, squirming away from him with a giggle.

"You're such a jerk," Faith chuckles grabbing an oven mitt from the counter hurling it at him.

Oliver steps to the side narrowly avoiding the mitt before he lunges toward her, grabbing her by the waist as she tries to run from him.

Faith laughs loudly as she swats at his arms trying to get free. "Get off of me you goon."

"NOPE!" Oliver grins, grabbing a small pinch of flour from the counter with one of his hands, flicking it directly on her cheek.

Faith huffs at him, wiping at her cheek, "You little shit!" She laughs coating her hands before grabbing a handful of flour.

"Faith..." Oliver chuckles stepping back from her, arming himself with a handful of his own. "Baby lets be reasonable here..."

Faith grins at him with a shrug, "it's a good thing I'm lucky, isn't it?" She pegs him square in the chest with the flour, sending a small white cloud into the air.

"THATS IT" Oliver sprang at her once more snaking his arm around her, smashing his handful of flour onto the top of her head.

Faith laughed loudly shoving back at him, sending both of them to the floor, covered in flour, laughing hysterically.

"I think we should call a truce..." Oliver laughs taking one finger, tracing it down the length of her nose, leaving a small white trail.

Faith nods giggling as she places both hands on his cheeks giving him a long slow kiss. "Truce." She pulls her hands away, throwing her head back laughing, white handprints stamped to his face.

"Go get cleaned up while I finish making breakfast so we can clean all this up before your parents get up..." Oliver stands slowly, helping Faith to her feet.

"Too late..." Lynn chuckles slowly making her way into the kitchen.

"Mom!" Faith smirks, her cheeks flushing..."uh...how much of that did you see..."

"Not to be a peeping Tom...but all of it" Lynn shook her head with a chuckle. "Why don't you two both go clean up, I'll finish up in here. I've made plenty of pancakes in my day..." She shoos them.

"Thanks Lynn," Oliver smiles at her with a nod.

"Thanks, Mom" Faith goes to hug her, but hesitates looking at the flour. "I owe you one...come on you, go hit the shower," she slaps Oliver's ass, leaving a handprint, causing her to laugh loudly again.

*******

Oliver closes the sliding door behind them, extending his hand towards the oversized lounge chairs. "Mr. McCallium…”

“Oliver,” Lachlan smiles, cutting him off. “I’m not your teacher, a judge or your boss…call me Lachlan. Mr. McCallium makes me feel old.” He chuckles settling back into the lounge chair overlooking the marina. “Go on, son.”

Oliver nods with a smile sitting across from him, “Lachlan…I know we haven’t gotten to spend much time together, but I just need to be honest with you. As I’m sure you’re aware, I am madly in love with Faith. She is the smartest, wittiest, most beautiful, intelligent and loving woman a man could ever ask for. Her smile is contagio--.” His shifts his gaze quickly from Lachlan towards the condo at the sound of Faith laughing through the patio doors. A big smile creeps across his face watching Faith sitting at the dining room table peeling potatoes with Lynn, laughing at whatever her mom was saying to her. “We've been through some ups and downs, just as every couple struggles with, but honestly sir, I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else but her.” Oliver pauses for a second, taking a moment to regain his composure. He turns back towards Lachlan, “Mr. McCallium, I would like to ask Faith to marry me and I wanted to ask you for your blessing."

Lachlan sat nodding, shifting his gaze slightly to stare out at the calm blue water, overlooking downtown Seattle. “Why do you think that after only courting for this short period of time that you and Faith…Marriage is a big step, Oliver. I know you kids are all wrapped up in each other…probably more than I care to know about.” He gives him a look out of the corner of his eye. “Why should I let you into my family? WHY do you want to marry Cubby? She’s my little girl, Oliver. How do you know that she’s the right one for you?” Lachlan turns to look at Oliver, expressionless. 

“I guess that’s a fair question…” Oliver rubs the back of his neck, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “Faith has this uncanny way of bringing out the best in people. She… She just makes me want to be a better man. When I think about my future, settling down, getting married, having kids...growing old with someone… I can’t envision going through all of those things without her. Faith IS my future. Her happiness, our future family, that’s all I want. I want take care of your daughter, Lachlan. I want to spend every day reminding her how amazing she is, how much I love her, and why I fell in love with her. I would be honored to be a part of your family.” Oliver trails off briefly. He brings his eyes back up to meet Lachlan’s, “She’s my everything, sir...”

Lachlan couldn't help but smile listening to Oliver pour his heart out. "Ever since Faith was born, I have dreaded having this conversation. As I said, she's my little girl, Oliver, she’s still my baby. I still see her running around with her wee curls bouncing on her head, playing in the back yard with her friends, pouring me imaginary cups of tea from her singing tea pot," he pauses, shifting in his chair to look back over his shoulder in the house at Faith and Lynn. "Those two in there are MY everything..."

Faith looks up sensing eyes on her, catching Oliver and her dad both staring at her, serious looks on their faces. "Moooom, why do you think they're staring at me like that..." She whines turning towards her mother. "Is dad grilling Oll's? Ugh do I need to go rescue him??"

Lynn pats her hand with a smile, "I'm sure they're fine, sweetheart. Your father is probably just giving him a speech," she chuckles.

Faith gives Lachlan a look as if to say 'be nice', before meeting Oliver's gaze mouthing I love you and puckering her lips making a kissy face at him with a smile. 

Oliver chuckles shaking his head, looking down at his hands.

Lachlan looks between the two of them, a smile on his face."Oliver..." Lachlan starts as he sits forward in his chair, resting his forearms on his legs, looking up at Oliver. "In the 25 years that I've been watching Faith grow into the beautiful young woman she is -- Through all of her crushes, the boyfriends, the boy bands, the hockey players...I've never seen her this happy. I've never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you. It would be unfair of me to deny her the happiness you so obviously bring to her. I would gladly welcome you into our family, Ollie."

Oliver lifts his head with wide eyes, the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile. "That really means a lot to me, sir, and I'm sure it means a lot to Faith as well....Thank you." His smile spreads across his whole face.

"I appreciate you coming to me...I can imagine that wasn't easy for you." Lachlan chuckles.

"I'll tell you what I've told Faith a thousand times...She is the most important thing in the world to me. I'll do anything for her. If that means putting myself into an uncomfortable situation like this, I'd do it a thousand times for her. She's worth it..." Oliver speaks honestly, nodding his head.

"You really love her, don't you?" Lachlan sits back, a content smile radiating off his face. "I knew there was a reason I liked you so much."

Faith pulls the sliding door open slowly, "If you two are done making me nervous out here by awkwardly staring at me through the door.... mom and I were just about to bust out Monopoly so I can destroy you all with my Hotels."

Lachlan chuckles standing from his chair, "One of these days the empire will fall, Cubby." He kisses her cheek before stepping past her into the house.

"You wish dad..." Faith shakes her head with a smirk before looking over to Oliver. She walks over to him sliding her arms around his neck. "Everything ok?"

Oliver smiles wrapping his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers, the tips of their noses touching. "Everything is perfect, Faith."

"Perfect, eh?" She places a quick peck on his lips with a smirk, "What was all that about? I felt like you two had me under a microscope you were staring so hard..." she chuckles.

"Yeah I know..." Oliver's fingers gently trailing along the soft skin of her low back under the hem of her shirt. "Just the normal boyfriend questions...Typical dad speech about dating you. How special you are. How much I love you..." He shrugs. "He's pretty protective of you."

Faith nods with a sigh, her hands rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm their baby, even though I'm an adult. I'm gonna be 100 and they'll still baby me. One day he needs to realize I'm an adult. He can't keep trying to scare my boyfriends away.."

"He didn't try to scare me away. He just wants to protect you, Faithy.." Oliver brings one hand up to her face, pushing back a curl that had blown free from the breeze, tucking it delicately behind her ear. "It was a good talk...I promise." He lightly kisses her cheek.

On the inside of the condo Lachlan stands at the kitchen island with Lynn watching Faith and Oliver through the corner window out on the patio. "I couldn't say no to him..."

"I don't think it would have stopped them even if you did.." Lynn swipes at her eyes before tears had the chance to fall. "look at them!" She smiles, "Faith is glowing, Lach."

"He has it bad too..." Lachlan smirks placing his arm around Lynn's shoulders, kissing the side of her head . "Our baby's getting married."

*******

“Mom...you’ve been staring at me all afternoon like I just won the nobel peace prize or something…” Faith chuckles, grabbing plates out of the cabinet for dinner. “What’s going on?”

Lynn smiles as she shakes her head, “nothings going on sweetheart. I’m just… I’m not used to seeing you like this.”

“Like what?” Faith stops as she puts down the small stack of plates on the table, leaning against the back of one of the dining room chairs.

Lynn pauses for a moment, waving her hand trying to come up with the right words. “You’re just so...happy. Now, I know that sounds ridiculous, and you’ve always been a happy person, but Faith you’re just beaming.” 

“Oh come on, Mom, seriously?” Faith chuckles with an eyeroll as she shakes her head at her. “You and dad will never get past the fact that I’ve grown out of diapers..”

She walks over to her, putting an arm around her shoulders, “Honey, listen to me. I know you’re not a child, I’ve seen the wonderful young woman you’ve become, and I am so proud of you. You’re beautiful, and smart, and successful. You work so hard, you have a great job, and wonderful friends and colleagues. But, as a mother, it will always be my job to worry about you. I will always make sure that you’re safe, and happy, and taken care of, and that if you need something, you get it. It’s just part of my duties as your mother.” Lynn reaches out pushing a strand of Faith’s hair to the side of her face. “But, I know the last few years have been a struggle for you after you moved out here permanently. You’ve buried yourself in your work, you were traveling all the time, you had your disappointments with Hunter...but it just seems like all of that has gone away now with Oliver. You’re back to your old self again. He seems like he balances you out, he takes care of you and he no doubt makes you happy...It’s comforting to me knowing that even though I’m not always here, that you’ve got somebody looking out for you.”

Faith turns, giving Lynn a tight hug. “He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, mom.” Pulling back after a moment she grabs the plates, setting them in their spots on the table. “Not many people know this, but we actually dated the whole season before he went to Dallas...but obviously, Dallas happened.”

“You didn’t try to make things work?” Lynn furrows her brow, “The way the two of you are, that really surprises me.” 

“We did...I did..." Faith lets out a frustrated sigh, "But it was a really complicated situation in Seattle, and then he left and things just weren’t working.” Faith nods with a frown as she sits on one of the dining room chairs, absentmindedly playing with the cross around her neck. “That first year...was really hard on me. Ollie at least had a million other things to keep him busy and distracted, and I just...didn’t? It sucked, and it made being here, alone, away from everyone that cares about me other than Shayna, really difficult. We both just kinda gave up on making things work. Eventually we started seeing other people...He started dating this girl...things with Hunter started to take off...we never really talked about what happened when we ‘broke up’, but God mom, never in a million years did I think he’d come back to Seattle.” 

Lynn sits down next to her, patting her hand gently. “But he did, Faith. He’s here now.”

A smile slowly spreads across her face, "yeah....yeah he is." Faith leans forward looking into the other room as Lachlan and Oliver sit watching football, cheering loudly as as play unfolds on the screen. "Mom?" 

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"When you and daddy were dating... did you know right away he was the right person for you?" Faith asks quietly. 

"Honestly? I never got that overwhelming, earth stopping ‘he’s the one’ feeling." Lynn shakes her head with a smile, "BUT... I knew that I loved him, and I knew that he made me laugh. I was a happier person when he was around, and every day that I spent with him was better than the day before."

"We're you ever scared you were making a mistake?" Faith looks back to Lynn, her eyes large, concern on her face. "That you weren't as sure as you thought you were?"

"Honey...if you're having second thoughts about Oliver..." Lynn rests a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, "it's okay. There's so many people in the world..."

Faith shakes her head quickly. "NO! Oh God. Mom. No, it's not him...I'm not having second thoughts about him at all. I've actually never felt more confident about anything in my life...and I think that's what really scares me. Things are almost too perfect. I mean, really? He comes back, we fall madly in love and live happily ever after? Mom. Things like that don't happen." 

"But what if they do, Faith?" Lynn says confidently. "Honey there's a reason that Oliver came back here to Seattle. Whether he did it on his own, or he was traded. Whether it was purely for hockey or for some other purpose, he's here. He ended up here. With you. Faith, baby that's not a coincidence. I think that based on what you've told me, you both had unresolved feelings when you broke up the first time... Not everyone gets a second chance and I really believe that something more powerful than hockey brought you two back together."

"You really think so?" Faith sits back into the chair letting out a soft sigh. 

"Honey, I've seen you together. You two belong together..." 

Faith giggles shaking her head, "two minutes ago there were 'so many people in the world' and now we belong together? A little contradictory don't you think?" 

Lynn shrugs with a smile, "I really do think you two belong together, but if you weren't happy...it's my job to say those things!" 

"No, I'm very happy. I actually don't think I could be any happier."

********

“Do you need any help, babe?” Faith wanders into the kitchen as Oliver pulls the perfectly browned Turkey from the oven, a grin spreading across her face “Oliver Scott! That looks amazing!” 

“I’ve told you repeatedly that I was a good cook, but noooo.” He rolls his eyes at her with a smile, “if I recall someone always nags, ‘let me cook for you’ when she comes over…” Oliver chuckles setting the pan on the counter before pulling off the oven mits. He wipes his hands on his ‘kiss the cook’ apron, before grabbing the platter from the island.

“So what you’re saying is you don’t like my cooking? That’s fine, I won’t ever cook again.” Faith hops up on the counter ledge with a chuckle, sitting next to the turkey. “Besides,” she points to his apron, “who am I to deny your demands.” 

“I never said that I don’t like your cooking,” Oliver smiles glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he sets the plate on the counter, “all I said was, I’m a good cook.” He steps to the side, standing in front of her as he points to his cheek. 

Faith puts her hands on his face giving him a kiss with a loud smack. “Muah! Love you.”

“Love you too, baby.” 

Oliver quickly gets back to work shuffling side dishes into serving bowls, making sure everything is heated and ready to be served. Faith hops off the counter, grabbing the serving bowls from the island. “We good?” 

Oliver nods, as he transfers the turkey from the roasting pan to the platter. “We’re good…”

The two of them carry the various items out to the table, setting everything in its place. Faith calls her parents in from the living room as they all make their way in towards the table. 

“Oliver, this looks amazing!” Lynn gapes at the spread on the table as she pats his back gently before sitting down at the table. “You really went to town, didnt you?” 

“Oh, this is a pretty small Thanksgiving for me… I have a big family, so I’m used to making tons of stuff.” Oliver smiles, pulling out Faith’s chair for her. 

“Yeah, Ollie is one of five kids…” Faith rubs his arm gently to say thank you before sitting down in her chair. “So his family gatherings are normally a lot like Shayna’s from what I hear.”

Lachlan chuckles, "I don't think anything is quite as crazy as a holiday with Shayna's family...Cubby, you want to say Grace?"

Faith nods with a smile, folding her hands on top of the table as she bows her head. "God we thank you for this food, for rest and home and all things good. For wind and rain and sun above but most of all for those we love. Bless our family today and always. Amen." 

A chorus of Amens circle the table as Faith lifts her head, turning to Oliver. "Typically on Thanksgiving we go around the table and each say something we're thankful for about each other...I know that you don't know my parents very well, but...I'm totally putting you on the spot," she chuckles putting her hand atop his. 

"Oh Cubby leave him be, he'll be fine!" Lachlan smiles speaking up, "I'll start. Lynn..." He turns in his chair, looking to Lynn next to him. "For the last 29 years, you've been my voice of reason. I suppose everyone knows I can have a wee bit of a temper, but you always know how to calm me down and make me see things more rationally. I'm thankful for your patience and your rationale."

Lynn smiles adoringly at him, gently reaching out and rubbing his shoulder. 

“Next, my baby girl.” Lachlan chuckles turning to Faith, holding up his hands in defense, “I know I know, ‘Daddddd I’m not a baby’ “ Lachlan throws his voice to mimic Faith, causing everyone at the table to chuckle. “Faith, you’ve been our little princess ever since the day you were born. I’ve watched you grow into a smart, caring, loving person, who makes me proud every single day. I’m thankful that you’ve used the knowledge and education we’ve given you to make smart choices, to advance your career, and to find this nice young lad.” He nods towards Oliver.

“And lastly...Oliver,” Lachlan turns to him from across the table. “I’ve gotta be honest, and give two things here. Number one, the selfish thing, I am SO thankful you came back to Seattle… make sure you remind Shayna of that every day, alright?” 

“Ohhhh she knows,” Faith giggles, “I’ve made sure of that...and she hates me for it.” 

“That’s my girl.” He smiles looking at Faith, “and second? Oliver, ever since Faith left home to move out here with Shayna, I’ve worried about her. Is she safe? Is her job treating her well? Does she have good friends? Is she making the right choices?... I’m a parent, it’s my job to worry. But...I feel like I don’t have to worry about her anymore. Of course I’m always going to be concerned, but I’m thankful that you’re here to ‘look after her’ so to speak. I know you’ll make sure she’s safe, and loved, and appreciated. I see the way you look at her... As a father, I couldn’t ask for anything more from you.” 

“Dadddddd, stop that's so sweet.” Faith smiles widely wrapping her hand around Olivers. “Ok, I guess I’ll go next…. DADDY” she grins, “I know I sometimes get on you about treating me like a little kid, but honestly? I love it. It reminds me all the time of how much you and mom care about me. And I know that you’re so overprotective because of Eddie, but I’m thankful that you were strong enough to keep going, and strong enough to love me. You can baby me all you want, I’ll never take that for granted.” Faith turns to Lynn, “and Mom… I’m thankful that you’re always there for me when I need you. To listen when I’ve had a bad day. When I just need to talk. When I need to hear how loved I am, or how much you miss me. You always seem to call when I need you. I’m just so grateful for both of you for being such loving and supportive parents, and I love you both so much.” 

Lynn gets up from her chair, walking over to Faith, “Come here…” She wraps her arms around Faith giving her a huge hug. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to your father and me, you know that?” She kisses her cheek before releasing her with a teary smile and sitting back down in her chair. “I love you too, baby.”

Faith turns to Oliver, “And then theres you…” she smirks, sliding her hand into his ontop of the table. “I can’t pick just one thing about you, I’m thankful for so many things. But the most important thing I’m thankful for would be that you love me. Ollie, you fought for me.” She reaches out lightly tracing her finger over the scar on his cheekbone from where Hunter punched him. “You believed in us so strongly that you let nothing stand in your way. I’m thankful that you saw something in me that was worth fighting for….”

Oliver smiles giving her hand a squeeze, “Everything about you is worth fighting for…” 

“Mom, Dad, close your eyes,” Faith chuckles, bringing her hands up to Olivers face, giving him a quick kiss. “Love you.” 

“Love you too, Faithy.” 

Lynn interjects slowly, looking between them. “Faith, I’ve never in my life seen you act like this. As a mother, there are certain things that you always wish for your daughter. You want her to grow up confident with a strong sense of self worth. You want to see her happy, and you want to see her continue to thrive and grow as an adult. Sweetheart, never in my life could I have imagined how headstrong and confident you would grow up to be. You’ve always been the girl who knew what she wanted and she went after it. I’m so thankful that you’ve only gotten stronger and more confident as you’ve matured. Not to tell an embarrassing story, but I remember before your senior prom, when Billy Winters and Darren McDaniels came over to the house to pick up you and Shayna, you wouldn’t even let Billy hold your hand infront of me and your father.”

“Well...Daddy said he’d kill him if he tried to touch me,” Faith giggles, “I think we BOTH believed him…” 

“Regardless, the old Faith never would have kissed her boyfriend in front of us. Just seeing the way you’ve grown and matured...I’m so thankful for every single thing about you, baby.” Lynn looks at Faith proudly before glancing back at Lachlan, “Lach, can you believe that we’ve raised such an amazing young lady? I remember the day she was born, being filled with such excitement, and such fear. I remember looking down at her tiny fingers, and little feet, thinking to myself, how I was never going to let her out of my sight. I was so paranoid, but luckily, you stepped in and assumed so much of that protective role. Because of you, I could spend my days just loving on her. Lach, I’m thankful you gave me the beautiful baby girl that we were blessed with, as well as thankful for you protecting us, always putting us first, always thinking of our needs, and always loving us, no matter what.”

“Mom, god, you’re going to make us all cry!” Faith gives her a look, blinking back her tears. 

“Sorry sweetie,” Lynn chuckles, “and last, but certainly not least,” she looks over at Oliver with a wide smile. “We may have only met recently, but Oliver, I’ve felt like you’ve been a part of this family for a while now. Listening to Faith talk about you, hearing the smile in her voice, I could just tell how important you are to her. For you? First, I’m thankful for your parents raising such a wonderful young man. I’m also thankful that, whatever it was, brought you back to Faith’s life. Whether it was your choice to come back to Seattle, or if it was a work move, or even if it was fate..whatever it was, I’m thankful it brought you two back together. You bring out a side in Faith that I’ve never seen before, not with her friends, not with past boyfriends...She comes alive when she talks about you, or interacts with you. I’m thankful that you’re at this table with us tonight, Oliver.”

“MOM!” Faith throws her hands up, wiping at her eyes. 

Oliver chuckles, reaching over wiping at her cheeks gently with his thumb, “so sensitive, this one.” He sits back with a satisfied smile, “I guess that just leaves me...no pressure, right?” He smirks, looking around the table, “well, first of all, I just wanted to thank ALL of you for having me be a part of your family tonight. As Faith said, I come from a pretty big family, and holidays away from everyone are pretty tough, so… thank you for welcoming me to your table with open arms.”

“Honey, we’re in your condo, this is technically your table…” Faith chuckles, “but that was a really sweet thing to say.”

“You’re always welcome, Ollie. You know that.” Lachlan nods at him.

“I appreciate that, sir. Alright so, I guess to get this started, Mr. McCallium, I’m thankful for you allowing me to be a part of Faith’s life. I know how important Faith is to you, and how protective of her you are, but I promise you sir, I only want what’s best for her. I’d never do anything to hurt her. She’s the most important thing in the world to me. So thank you, for believing in me, and trusting in me to take care of your daughter.” He turns to Lynn with a smile, “and Mrs. McCallium, I don’t doubt that all of Faith’s amazing qualities are because of you and the way you raised her. I’m thankful for everything you’ve given Faith. She’s a strong, focused and beautiful woman, a loving and caring girlfriend, she will make the most thoughtful, devoted wife, and undoubtedly an amazing mother one day. I can only hope she keeps me around long enough to see those qualities first hand.” 

“Olls,” Faith swoons over his words. “That was so sweet…”

“But you, Faithy…” Oliver turns sideways in his chair to face her. “I’m thankful that you gave me a second chance. God knows I didn’t deserve it after the way things ended the first time. But honestly, Faith? You intimidated me. You had me wrapped around your finger, and I was powerless. I needed you to be happy, I could think of nothing but you, and that was terrifying to me. I needed to figure myself out. I know it wasn’t easy for you, and I’ll never stop apologizing to you for being so selfish, but being away from you made me realize that you’re everything I want in my life. I know that I’ve made my mistakes, and I know it’s been a bit of a bumpy road for us, but I’m going to spend every single day proving to you how much I love you. I’m so thankful for you, Faith. Every little thing about you. From those freckles on your cheeks, to the scar on your elbow. I love you.”

Faith grins back at him, “I love you too Oliver.” 

“Well I’m glad I didn’t make you go first! How do you even follow that?” Lachlan chuckles, shaking his head at Oliver.

“You follow it with my stuffing,” Faith grins reaching for the bowl off the table, “Let’s eat!”


	18. Always staring at me like I took him from ya....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little deep talk from the girls. A quick road trip to Dallas, Oliver's former team, causes some trouble for some people....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Ashlee Simpson "Boyfriend". Please, if you haven't listened to that song lately, just go listen to it. (which I get it, you probably haven't and don't ask why I decided to listen to it again...) IT JUST WORKS. 
> 
> **To Amy and Annmarie** , Dylan in this chapter is Tyler. LMFAO! Sorry we didn't do him justice and talk about how amazingly delicious he is. *shrugs* 
> 
> Also thanks to everyone reading! Kudos and feedback are always appreciated to let us know you guys are enjoying it! I know we are dumping a lot out on you, but we wrote a lot before we went on the road trip and decided now's a good time to just let it all out! :) <3

“Coming into work after a holiday is never fun, especially after having some time away with Deni, away from real life.... But, I guess if post-holiday work needs to happen, it may as well be for a good cause.” Shayna drops a large cardboard box on the chair in front of Faith’s desk. “Here’s the jerseys for the ladies helping with the toy collection. Should we go through it to make sure everyone is here?”

Faith nods grabbing the red folder from her desk, “You wanna call out who’s jerseys are in there, and I’ll check them all off to make sure?”

“Fine with me.” Shayna nods opening the box pulling the first jersey out. “Maddox, Everly’s on the front.”

“Everly - check!” Faith grins highlighting her name.

“Casper. Archer obviously.”

“Obviously…”

“Mikaelsson. Victoria.”

“Awww Anders” Faith grins, “That makes me happy!”

“Langenberg, Greta!”

Faith giggles, “I wonder if they’ve done it yet…”

“Doubtful. Next…. Gates.... with Livy.”

“Casey...got him!”

“Aww, Oliver…. your name is on the front.” Shayna holds up the jersey. “Did you do this?”

“NO?!” Faith looks up from her paper… “He did not….”

Shayna tosses the jersey over the desk to Faith. “Adorable. I guess you’re helping out.”

Faith runs her fingers lightly over her embroidered name as a smile spreads across her face, “He’s crazy” she chuckles placing the jersey on her chair. “NEXT!”

“Taylor! Oh, well that was quick. Ella.” Shayna holds up the front.

Faith grins, “They’re out of control! At this rate, they’ll be married by Christmas.”

Shayna wrinkles her nose reaching into the box. “Really? Milda.”

Faith again looks up from the folder. “Hunter…”

“Erica…” Shayna unfolds the jersey looking confused. “Seriously?”

“ERICA?” Faith’s eyes grow wide. “Well what the FUCK!” she slams the papers down on her desk, “REALLY? Fucking...really? Oh hell no. Hellllllll no, am I NOT dealing with that bitch”

“Rebound much? Gross. Nothing like going back to your ex...” Shayna drops the jersey to the chair like it’s on fire.

Faith mimics his voice, “She wasn’t right for me, I didn’t love her….Blah blah blah” She waves her hands around, “WHATEVER. NEXT.” She picks up her papers, sitting on her desk. “Asshole…”

“Lorenzo, Katelyn.”

“Ohhhh she’s going to be SO pregnant!!” Faith giggles “Baby Dom’s everywhere!!”

Shayna laughs reaching back into the box, her face dropping as she pulls the red jersey out. “Deniau…”

Faith grins “Oh….Deniau….?”

“My name is on the front,” Shayna looks up at Faith turing the material in her hands. “You did this?”

“Tristan’s idea...girl scout honor!” Faith held up three fingers. “You’re his girlfriend and he’s proud of that. He wanted you, and everyone else, to know that.”

Shayna smiles hugging the jersey. “He’s ridiculous.” she blushes.

“Yeah, but you love him,” Faith shrugs nonchalantly.

“I do. I love him,” Shayna grins.

“I know you do, Shay… I’ve been your best friend for 10 years. I knew you loved him before you did.” Faith smiles, “And even though he may not realize it yet, he loves you too.”

“He uh, he already told me so.” Shayna runs her fingers along the stitching of Tristan’s last name. “He told me on Thanksgiving that he was ‘Thankful to have me in his life. Thankful for finally talking to me. Thankful for my love.’ and that he loves me.”

“SHAYNA!!!!” Faith squeals “Oh my god, thats so sweet!! Awwww Deni!” She grins “Oh, Shay, I’m so happy for you!!”

“I know…. I can’t deal with it. I’m so happy. He was so cute about it. I guess this just furthers the point.”

“He loves you, Shayna. He wants everyone to know it.” Faith smiles, “I was happy to order that jersey for him.”

“I’m honestly going to wear this everywhere.” Shayna laughs holding the jersey up. “Fuck the rest of the box.”

Faith chuckles closing the folder, “All the important ones are here so….” she leans back across her desk, grabbing her jersey, “I still can’t believe Oliver did this.”

“I had no idea he did that. Must have made someone throw it in there.”

“Actually, I believe it” Faith smirks thinking back to the night after the club. “He made a comment the night I borrowed his jersey, that he liked seeing his last name on me.  I’m not surprised he made this. Marking his territory.” she giggles.

“He’s too cute.” Shayna laughs.

“He is cute” Faith smiles, looking at a picture of the two of them on her wall. “Shay?”

“Yeah?” Shayna stops caressing her jersey to look at Faith.

“Do you think Ollie coming back to Seattle was fate or coincidence?”

Shayna smiles at Faith, “Fate. By far. He had no idea you were going to be here. You two deserve to be together. Destined honestly. You were given a second chance to right the wrong of the past.”

“My parents haven’t stopped asking about him…” Faith smiles a little, a blush creeping across her cheeks, “They loved him. Especially my dad…obviously.” She chuckles.

“Yeah obviously. Might I refer to the Toss Out of 2012? Still mad about that.”

“I’m sorry, my family is a Moreno-loving family. Take that up with my father.” She chuckles, “he passed on that good gene to me.”

“I’ll probably never hear the end of it now. ‘That’s right, Cubby is dating him. Can’t set his jersey on fire now can you?’ I can’t wait.” Shayna pouts mocking Faith’s father.

“Yeah well...I wouldn’t worry too much. You never know what will happen,” Faith shrugs. “Besides, that jersey is safe in my hall closet. You’re not setting anything on fire.”

“I wouldn’t do that now. We’re practically best friends,” Shayna snickers.

“What, you and Oliver?” Faith raises an eyebrow, “Secret friends?” she chuckles “Should I be worried?”

“Sarcasm…” Shayna laughs.

“I can’t believe we have to leave for Dallas in the morning,” Faith sighs, tucking the red folder back into its place on her desk, “I was quite content not having to do laundry for another week…”

“Laundry, ugh. Good thing I own a lot of clothing. This traveling thing is out of control. I’m going to have to start teaching Tristan to do laundry if he’s going to hang out at my apartment more often during his down time,” Shayna shakes her head holding her jersey to her chest.

**  
** **********

 

Faith plops down in one of the arena seats a few rows off the ice in their defensive corner pulling her laptop from her bag. “I can’t believe we got suckered into this…never allow me to negotiate at 5:30am ever again...” she chuckles.

“I know, it was ridiculous. I couldn’t say no though,” Shayna clicks away at her iPad. “Here they come now,” she points to the bench as the boys file out onto the ice in their multicolored practice jerseys.

Faith pulls up the press release for the upcoming charity drive, showing it to Shayna, “What do you think? I feel like we should charge more for tickets…”

“But it’s the toy collection right? Why would tickets be more and then you expect people to bring donations? I mean maybe a little more?” Shayna shrugs. “Look at these pictures from the last game…” she holds up her iPad showing Faith a picture of Oliver. “That mouth.”

Faith giggles, “That mouth is right… that mouth is fucking magical” she pretend fans herself, “Don’t even get me started on his tongue…”

“Gross,” Shayna makes a gagging noise with a chuckle. “Just kidding.”

“Whatever Shay, don’t be jealous…” Faith smirks, nudging her. “I feel like I should just put my laptop away now...nothing is going to get accomplished at this practice…”

“Sure, I don’t know what you mean. Oh, hold on,” Shayna holds her hand up watching the bench as Tristan switches jerseys. “Touche.” She turns off her iPad slipping it back in her tote bag.

Faith closes her laptop, putting it back into her carry bag. “Well...consider this a morning wasted.” She slides the bag under her chair, crossing her legs, “I haven’t watched a road practice in…man, I don’t know that I’ve ever watched a road practice…”

Coach has the boys line up at center ice to work on their shoot-out moves. They run through everyone, eliminating those who have missed their shots.

“Oh god, it’s a competition,” Faith smirks “This should be good!” she sat up a bit in her chair watching the boys shoot one by one. “How pathetic is it that only 6 out of our ENTIRE team can make a shot 1-on-1?”

“I feel like I’m ok with that since my other half is a defenseman, but let’s be real it would be nice if he could actually hit the net sometimes,” Shayna yells the last part with a smile at the bench.  

“What can I say...Ollie has magic hands too..” Faith chuckles as he easily put the puck past London, with a celebratory howl and an exaggerated fist pump as he skates past the glass in front of them. “Look at that ass, you’d think he just won a gold medal or something.”

“Alright Olls!” Shayna claps, giving him a whistle.

After the second round, only 4 skaters were left. Oliver, Anders, Jiri and Logan.

“Fifty to one, Oliver smokes everyone” Faith holds out her hand to Shayna.

Oliver looks over towards the girls in the corner, pointing his stick towards Faith before taking off down the ice. He carries the puck on his forehand throwing a hard shoulder fake before bringing the puck on his backhand and beating London through the five-hole. Oliver drops to his knee with another fist pump before skating past the girls, tapping his stick on the glass with a smirk.

“Get off the ice, you showboater,” London swats the puck up ice with a chuckle.

Faith grins blowing him a kiss, “Shayna I just… I’m so in love with him. It’s ridiculous...”

“So cute. So gross,” Shayna laughs. “It’s just Oliver and Anders.”

Coach blows the whistle and Anders takes off down the ice, snapping the puck from hashmarks, London reaches his glove out and snatches the puck from crossing the line. “FUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCK” He growls, smacking his stick on the ice angrily.

Faith laughs, “Oh man...no pressure, Oll’s…”

Oliver again looked towards the girls, “FOREHAND OR BACKHAND?”

Faith looks to Shayna, “Backhand, right?”

Before she has the chance to reply, a slender, blonde girl calls out from behind them, “BACKHAND.” She stands with her arms crossed, staring at Oliver, a smile across her lips.

Shayna looks over her shoulder looking at the girls behind them. “Who in the fuck is this? Do they just let any Dallas people in here?” she turns to Faith with a grimace.

Faith looks behind her, her eyes narrowing. She turns back to the ice, staring at her hands. “Sophia LaRoux…” she mumbles.

Oliver stares at Sophia, almost as if he had seen a ghost. Coach blows the whistle and Oliver takes off down the ice with the puck. Oliver pulls the puck across his body, chipping it over London’s pad on his forehand. He comes to a complete stop behind the net, with no celebration.  Unsnapping his helmet, he pulls it off his head, turning to the corner section again with a blank look on his face.

“What no celly, Olls?” Sophia yells out laughing. “Char, he must have lost the spark he used to have when he went back to that dreary city.”

“Are you even supposed to be here?” Shayna turns again looking up the section. “I’m pretty sure this is for the Scarlet.”

“And who are you even?” Sophia scowls looking down at Faith and Shayna.

“Not that I owe you an explanation, but...Faith McCallium...I work for the Scarlet…” Faith shoots daggers up at her. “This is a closed practice.”

“Oh, oooohhh, Charlotte. That’s the one I was telling you about. That classless, pathetic excuse Oliver left in Seattle. I’m pretty sure he said she was just a whore he was using on the side…” Sophia scoffs looking at the red head next to her.

“I’m sorry, what the hell was that?” Shanya stands looking up the stands.

Faith smiles at Shayna, picking up her bag, throwing it over her shoulder. “She called me a classless pathetic whore!” She nods, walking up the steps slowly stopping directly in front of Sophia, getting up in her face. “That’s cute. But sweetheart, I’m the classless pathetic whore he comes home to every night….Enjoy the game.”  Faith continues on up the stairs towards the main level.

Shayna follows Faith glaring as she walks up the stairs. “Oliver is taken, happily might I add. You even step foot near him and I find out, you and your peroxide tracks will regret it.”

Making her way quickly down the hall Faith stomps her feet angrily against the ground with each step “WHY is she even here. She doesn’t work here. WHY IS SHE HERE SHAYNA.” Faith huffs walking up the hallway towards the elevator to the suites.

“I don’t even know. I didn’t think they would let anyone in here who isn’t associated with the team. Unless the team has a mascot fuck toy. Makes sense.” Shayna shrugs, pressing the elevator button.

“Shay….” Faith bit her thumbnail. “You don’t think...he invited her?”

“Wouldn’t we know that? I feel like that is something that usually is run through us. We didn’t have any requests for tickets…” Shayna opens her bag grabbing a file, opening it pulling a sheet out. “No requests.”

“I just want to put this out there…I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all…” Faith frowns waiting for the elevator. “I have a bad feeling.”

“I wouldn’t go that crazy. She’s with the Darts. They’re out for practice. I don’t know why she was allowed by the ice but, don’t read too much into it, Faith.” Shayna stuffs the folder back in her bag giving Faith a sympathetic look. “I’m sure he has nothing to do with it.”

“I hope you’re right…” Faith sighs as she waits impatiently on the elevator before exiting and going to the suites. “You’re right… I’m overreacting. Ollie loves me. He’d never have said those things about me... “ She plops down at one of the high top tables, setting up her laptop.

“He would never. He’s crazy in love with you. Not even before would he have said those things,” Shayna nods sitting across from her, taking stuff out of her bag. “I’d fucking kill him otherwise.”

The girls sit working for about 45 minutes before Tristan pops his head in the suite. “There you two are,” he smiles, walking in the room.” I was looking for you after practice. When did you leave?”

“Hey Deni!” Shayna smiles sliding off her chair, meeting his hug with a quick kiss. “Don’t ask. There was a situation we had to leave alone.”

Tristan looks at Faith sulking in her chair. “What’s the matter?”

“Sophia showed up and was a total piece of shit.” Shayna frowns.

“And that is?” Tristan shrugs looking confused.

“Oliver’s smokin’ hot ex-girlfriend…” Faith mumbles, picking at her nail polish.

“She’s not that pretty. Jesus…” Shayna rolls her eyes. “She’s all fake hair, and labeled clothes paid for by the guys that bang her since she’s a whore.”

“Blonde, tall kinda?” Tristan raises his eyebrow.

“Yeah…” Shayna narrows her eyes at him.

Tristan nods, “She was hanging out in the lounge down stairs. Her laugh is annoying.”

Faith frowns, “She’s downstairs…”

“Tristan, are you sure? Are you fucking kidding me?” Shayna growls looking at Tristan then to Faith. “You have to seriously be kidding me.”

Tristan shrugs, “I’m just saying what I saw. Tall, blond, sitting in the lounge. She had a friend with her I guess, shorter, red hair, glasses.”

“Charlotte.” Faith slams the lid closed on her laptop. “I fucking hate Dallas.” She dramatically puts her head down on her laptop.

“I’m sorry Faith. I don’t think he was expecting her because he was a little hesitant and confused as to why she was here. He was talking to her last I saw before I came up,” Tristan looks at Shayna with a sigh.

Faith gets up from her stool, heading for the door, “I feel like I’m going to be sick….I’ll be back, I just need to get some air.”

“Faith, just remember what I said. Don’t overreact. Tristan said he was confused… that’s a good sign. It’s going to be ok,” Shayna grabs Faith’s arm before she exits the room. “And don’t go down there, especially without me.”

Faith nods, “I’m literally just walking outside for a minute. I just… I can’t be in here right now. I’m literally feeling sick to my stomach.”

“Ok.” Shayna gives her a reassuring smile letting go of her arm. She waits for Faith to get down the hallway as she turns to Tristan. “I swear to god I will tear him apart if he’s seeing her while we are down here. If he’s been talking to her after everything he’s said. I don’t think he is but…”

“He genuinely looked confused. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t expecting her to be in the room,” Tristan sits on the stool Faith was in.

“She was a total bitch to us. I don’t trust the situation. I hope Faith is ok.”

*******

“I can’t believe you’re defending her!” Faith raises her voice as she shakes her head, pacing back and forth across the room.

“Faith, I’m just saying that I don’t think you understood what she was saying. Maybe you misheard her, I don’t know. Just don’t be so dramatic about it!” Oliver rolls his eyes, frustrated.

“Oh, because being called a whore is easily misinterpreted?” Faith laughs in disbelief. “I really can’t believe you’re saying this to me.  I don’t even want to be in this room right now.”

“Baby, I get it. You’re uncomfortable she’s here. I can appreciate that. But I love you. I love YOU. You, Faith. Not her… Soph had nothing bad to say about you AT ALL. She even made a comment about how pretty you are... That’s why I’m saying, you must have misunderstood her.”

“Oh, because I’m sure she would have come right out and told you that she hates me, Oliver.” Faith raises her voice, getting more and more frustrated. “And when exactly did that conversation happen? Hmm? Before or after she sucked your dick?” Faith crosses her arms, aggravated.

“Faith!” Oliver grumbles throwing his hands up in the air, walking to the other side of the room, “I can’t deal with you when you get like this! You’re being completely irrational!” He rubs the back of his neck, frustrated. “She didn’t suck anything! We just talked, thats IT. Talked.”

“Did you invite her?” Faith stares at him.

“Faith, just stop, ok?” Oliver shakes his head.

“DID YOU?”

“NO, Faith, ok? I didn’t invite her….”

“But?”

Oliver looks at his hands, knowing she’ll be annoyed with him. “I knew she’d be here… I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d get like THIS!” Oliver waves his hands in her direction.

“Well...sorry I give a shit.” Faith huffs, grabbing her shoes from the side of the room, “I’m going to find Shayna, maybe I won’t be a bother to HER.”

“Faith…” Oliver sighs, walking over to her. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to fight with you about this. I should have told you. I’m sorry...”

“I don’t want to fight with you either…”  Faith folds her arms across her chest with a frown. “But you have to believe me when I tell you, that girl is up to no good. I wouldn’t lie to you about this.”

“Come here,” Oliver pulls her to him, giving her a tight hug. “I’m not saying you’re lying. I’m just saying, MAYBE...maybe things came out wrong. I COULD BE WRONG. I’m the first one to say, I COULD be wrong...but. Let’s just put it behind us...okay?”

“You’re wrong. But...okay.”

*********

The game between the Scarlet and the Darts was as hard hitting as it gets. Oliver was out to prove himself against his former team, and they were out for blood. He took the brunt of several questionable hits, as well as a few hard checks with their sticks. But luckily for the Scarlet, they were able to secure the 3-2 win in regulation.

Shayna and Faith make their way down to the VIP Lounge to wait for the boys.

“I’m so happy they won. I hope Oliver is ok. It just seems like they were gunning for him,” Shayna wrinkles her nose grabbing a bottle of water from the table.

“They were…” Faith sighs with a pout, “He’s going to be hurting tomorrow. I can’t believe Dylan didn’t get tossed though. That was a really dirty hit.”

“He’s a dirty piece of shit.” Shayna scoffs.

“Speaking of dirty pieces of shit…” Faith glares over at Sophia, who was walking directly towards Oliver. “I swear to god Shayna, if I didn't work for this fucking team.”

“Where is she going?” Shayna squints watching the girl walk across the room.

“Where do you THINK she’s going.” Faith grabs a bottle off of the table “Maybe if I throw this at her face from over here, no one will know…” she clenches the bottle tightly, the plastic crackling loudly under her grip.

“Oh no….” Shayna steps closer to where Oliver and Sophia were standing.

“Hey Soph, it was great to see you.” Oliver smiles, nodding at her.

“It was so good to see you, Ollie!” Sophia smiles as she wraps her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

Oliver slides his arms around her, squeezing her tightly. “You too, Sophie..it was nice to catch up earlier”

Faith’s jaw drops, turning to Shayna. “Did he just say that? Tell me he didn't just say that..”

“Did he? Catch up?” Shayna scowls.

“What are you two doing?” Tristan looks at Shayna and Faith.

“Shut up Tristan” Faith hisses at him, waving her hand in front of him to silence him, her eyes watching Sophia and Oliver intently.

"Don't be a stranger, ok?" Sophia backs off slightly, bringing her mouth down quickly onto his.

Oliver turns his head to the side, bringing his hands up to push her away. “Sophie..I ca---” Before Oliver has time to finish his statement, Shayna quickly steps in, grabbing Sophia by the hair, pulling her backwards.

"You clearly misunderstood our conversation earlier. When you called Faith a classless whore? I believe you were referring to yourself. He’s TAKEN.” She shoves her backwards forcefully.

“Are you out of your mind?” Sophia screeches holding her head, taking a step forward at Shayna.

Shayna smiles holding a piece of hair extention in her hand. “Fucking come at me… take your horse hair you fucking bitch,” she drops the piece to the floor glaring.

Sophia steps forward quickly at Shayna with her hands up trying to grab at her. Shayna blocks her, reaching around connecting with her face with a right punch just at her cheekbone.

Oliver and Tristan quickly step in separating the two girls “That’s enough!” Oliver yells out of the girls’ noise.

Tristan picks up Shayna by the waist pulling her back. “Let go of her now, Shayna.”

“You’re just going to stick up for her Oliver? Are you fucking serious right now?” Shayna screams trying to fight off Tristan’s hands.

“I’m not sticking up for anyone, Shayna. Stop, Sophia. Get out of here.” Oliver slaps Sophia’s hands away from Shayna, grabbing her arms pulling her back.

“You’re fucking trash. Go back to Seattle,” Sophia spits at Shayna, shaking off Oliver, stepping back.

“Tristan let me go! Let me fucking go.” Shayna screams as Tristan carries her across the room.

“Enough, Shayna!” Tristan huffs, standing her back up, “It’s done. We’re leaving in a few minutes. Leave it alone. You don’t want any trouble with JP.” He slowly begins to ease his grip on her, making sure not to let her go incase she takes off again.

“Are you ok?” Oliver looks at Sophia with sad eyes, his hand on her arm.

“Am I ok? Are you serious?” Sophia picks her purse up off the floor, wincing. “She hit me in the face, Oliver,” she sobs, pointing to her cheek.

Oliver gently touches her cheek, turning her face to inspect the now redding mark swelling up.

Gavin looks over to Faith seeing her watch everything unfold. Her face expressionless, as she stares at Oliver catering to Sophia. He walks over to Faith, putting an arm around her shoulder. His voice loud, echoing across the room as he speaks, “Faithy…are you ok?”

“Oh, sure Gavs, I’m JUST FINE.” Faith grumbles angrily through gritted teeth, “I’m just going to check on my BEST FRIEND, because, you know, I CARE ABOUT HER…. Because god, what kind of person would I be sitting back knowing SOMEONE I CARE ABOUT IS HURTING RIGHT NOW.”  She glares at Oliver, a look of hurt and disappointment spread across her face, before turning on her heel walking out of the room.

“Faith….” Oliver lets go of Sophia watching as Faith storms out of the room. “Sophia, just…”

“Oliver… you’re such a fucking dick!” Shayna scoffs as Tristan leads her out of the room, his grip tight on her arm as they walk past.

Oliver scowls turning back catching the smirk on Sophia’s face. “Really? What the fuck Sophia?”

“Oh come on, Ollie” Sophia smiles at him, bringing her hand up to his face, “You can’t be serious about that one. She so….” she makes a face, “bleh.”

Oliver swats her hand away, backing up from her, “She’s beautiful, and smart, and caring….Faith was right about everything, wasn’t she? You and Charlotte we’re harassing them…” he shakes his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “You stay away from me, and you leave Faith alone, or so help me god, Sophia…” he stares at her before walking swiftly down the corridor. “FAITH…”

Oliver looks from room to room trying to find Faith with no avail. He walks out the back entrance of the arena towards the busses, spotting Shayna and Tristan. He shoves through most of the guys before stopping in front of Shayna

“Please dont hit me, even though I deserve it. I know I’m a piece of shit, I’m a giant fuckup, and I accept that, you can hit me later, but please, where’s Faith?” Oliver looks at Shayna, pleading with her.  

Shayna shook her head, laughing in disbelief. “You know, I should beat the shit out of you, Oliver.  I shouldn’t tell you a god damn thing, BUT because Faith is my best friend, I’ll just tell you she’s fine. Just leave her alone.”

“Shayna…” Oliver huffs “I need to talk to her.”

“You’ll just make it worse. Let her calm down first.” Shayna shakes her head at him “You REALLY blew it this time. You know that right? What the fuck were you thinking!”

“I don’t KNOW, Shayna, OK? I don’t know! ” Oliver snaps at her.

“Hope that ring has a refund policy” Shayna crosses her arms, glaring at him.

Tristan’s eyes go wide. “You actually bought it?”

“Dude!” Gavin’s jaw drops, patting Oliver on the back.

“A ring?” Logan chimes in, “Ollie that’s awesome!”

Kopecky punches Oliver in the shoulder “You bought a ring!”  

“YEAH, not that it matters now.” Shayna scoffs at him “You’re such a fucking dick, Oliver, I can’t believe you did this to her.”

Oliver nods, replaying the nights events over in his head, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. A hand on his shoulder pulls his from his thoughts, “Come with me..” Hunter nods to him, walking back towards the arena. “I don’t know why I’m even telling you this, but, I feel like as a man, you should know….” Hunter crosses his arms staring down at Oliver. “Faith isn’t here, one of the Dart’s PR staff drove her to the airport. I don’t know if she’s flying back with us, or if she’s made other plans, but looking for her here is pointless. I didn’t see what happened, and quite honestly, it’s probably better that way, but…” Hunter sighs shaking his head, “Whatever it is, you need to fix it. It’s not easy for me to admit this but, you two have something special. Don’t let that go.”

“Thanks, Hunter.” Oliver nods at him, giving him a slap on the shoulder. His mind was racing, and he didn’t know what to do. He walks back down to Shayna for a second time,  “Shay, I don’t deserve your help...but I’m asking you. Will you please, help me fix this.”

“Get on the bus, Oliver.” Shayna sighs, rolling her eyes, pointing to the door.

“....was that a yes?”

“BUS” Shayna points again, speaking more sternly.

“He deserves you being angry with him, but you need to calm down.” Tristan gives Shayna a look before shoving Oliver towards the door, following him “She’s going to help you but you know she’s doing it for Faith only.”

Oliver nods sliding in to an empty seat on the bus, pulling out his cellphone.

**Oliver (11:24pm):** _I’m not asking for a reply, but PLEASE, just read this…_

**Oliver (11:27pm):** _First off, I need to say I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve become an expert at letting you down. You do nothing but love me and support me. You stand behind me in everything I do, and without fail, I always somehow manage to find a way to ruin things between us. I don’t blame you for being mad.  I don’t deserve to have you in my corner. You deserve more than being constantly let down._

**Oliver (11:31pm):** _Faith, you are hands down the most important person in my entire life. For me to have doubted you earlier was stupid and selfish. I wanted to think the best of Sophia, I wanted to think that I had a better judge of character than that… but I was wrong. I didn’t stand up for you and I should have. I should never have let her talk to you the way she did, I should have been there for you. I shouldn’t have let her sit with me after practice this morning. I never should have checked on her after Shayna unloaded on her, I should’ve gone to you. But I didn’t. I don’t know what I was thinking, if I was thinking at all. I felt responsible.. I am responsible. I can’t change the way I reacted, but I’m sorry I let you down. You deserve better than that._

**Oliver (11:38pm):** _I love you, Faith McCallium. I love you more than I can put into words. You’re everything to me.  I know you’re hurting, and it breaks my heart knowing that it’s my fault. Hurting you is the last thing I’d ever want to do and I am sick to my stomach knowing that I’ve done it not only once, but twice. I’m so sorry that I put you in this position, Faith. You should be able to rely on me to be strong for you, to stand behind you, to support you and encourage you, and I haven’t held up my end of the bargain. I’m not proud of how I reacted tonight, Faith, but I’m going to spend every day trying to earn your trust back. I understand you probably want nothing to do with me after everything that’s happened tonight...but I promise you Faithy, I’m going to make it up to you. I don’t know how, I don’t even know if you’ll let me but, I’m going to make things right again. I love you, Faith, and I’m never going to stop showing you that._

Oliver tucks his phone into his jacket pocket, his eyes glazed over, staring out the window of the bus.

Tristan sits in Faith’s usual spot, waiting for Shayna to finish rounding up the rest of the team.

Shayna walks in the bus, greeted by a handful of hoots and clapping.

“Nice right hook, Shay!” someone from the back of the bus hollars.

“Knocking bitches out, that’s the Scarlet way!” another voice pipes in.

Shayna chuckles waving her hand in the air as if to silence them before sitting down next to Tristan. She heard the chime of her phone, pulling it out of her bag. Faith texts Shayna screen grabs of Oliver’s messages to her, followed by several sad emoticons.

“You’re a guy, what am I supposed to do?” Shayna huffs at him, passing her phone to Tristan.

“I think you should do whatever Faith wants you to do, as her best friend?” Tristan shrugs. “I agree that you are angry, but ultimately, Faith is in charge and you should be doing things for her, not for you.”

******

The team files onto the plane, everyone taking their respective seats. Kopecky throws his bag into the overhead bin, looking down, seeing Faith curled up against the window, in the last row of the plane. “I swear to god if you tell one person I am here I’m going to kick you in the balls so hard they’re going to fly out your throat.” Faith whispers softly but sternly. He nods quietly, giving her a sympathetic smile, taking his seat.

Once everyone is situated and the plane is loaded up, the Scarlet take to the air for their 4 hour flight back to Seattle.

Most everyone sleeps on night flights, but the occasional few will stay up doing miscellaneous things. Once the plane reached cruising altitude, and the silence took over, Faith pulled out her laptop to finish up some work.

About 45 minutes into the flight, Faith’s phone vibrated, startling her. She picked it up, looking at the screen. Hunter.

**Hunter (2:17am):** _It’s not my business, but I just wanted you to know... A woman that can make a grown man cry holds a place deep in their heart that not many people can reach….and Moreno has been unsuccessfully hiding his tears all night…_

**Hunter (2:19am):** _Also, If you wanted to hide in the back, and not have anyone know you were on the plane, you should reconsider your rapid-fire typing :)_

Faith slowly peeks her head up over the top of the seats in front of her, scanning the rows. Hunter turned his head slightly, catching her eyes, giving her a sympathetic smile before facing forward again.

**Faith (2:23am): _I was trying to type quietly too…_**

**Faith (2:23am): _Why are you telling me this about Oliver? I don’t care._**

**Hunter (2:24am):** _Faith…_

**Hunter (2:24am):** _You do care, and you know it._

**Hunter (2:25am):** _And why am I telling you this?_

**Hunter (2:25am):** _Because I walked away from an amazing girl because she wasn’t in love with me. Call me crazy for admitting this, but you two are perfect for each other. I couldn’t stand in the way of that._

**Hunter (2:27am):** _I don’t know what happened tonight other than the chatter I heard from the guys on the bus, but it sounds like Moreno made a dumb choice, and he’s sorry. Everyone makes dumb choices._

**Hunter (2:28am):** _Especially men...we make lots of them._

**Faith (2:31am): _Some mistakes are inexcusable._**

**Hunter (2:32am):** _But some of them ARE forgivable...you and I may not have a relationship, Faith, but I still care about you very much. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy… Don’t deny yourself that because you’re angry._

**Hunter (2:33am):** _Sleep on it._

****  
  


***********

Faith walks down the hall to JP’s office after getting his text. She knocks on his door gently before walking in, “You wanted to se--....ugh” Faith sighs seeing Shayna sitting in front of his desk. “Great.” She walks over and sits down next to Shayna.

“I swear you two are going to be the death of me. I have never had to deal with this caliber of drama ever in an office other than unruly players.” JP sighs running his hand across his face.

“Well don’t worry. There won’t be any more drama. I’m done with all of those assholes.” Faith crosses her arms with a sad pout. “It WON’T happen again.”

“I mean, I get it but I haven’t caused any trouble in all honesty,” Shayna coughs. “First offense.”

“You literally hit someone. HIT SOMEONE. That’s not a first offense, Shayna.” JP looks at her with wide eyes. “While I’m proud of you and slightly amused that you gave that girl a black eye… I have to prove a point that this sort of activity will not be tolerated. The last thing I need is for the rest of the office to hear about this. You’re being suspended from the office and will not be going on the next away trip. Suspended for…. two days.”

“Ok, fine. But can I come for the game?” Shayna pouts.

“Not in the suite. Get your own ticket, and don’t just go ask for one.” JP looks at her with a scowl.

“Good thing I date a player.” Shayna smiles.

“Not something you want to say right now, Shayna.”

“JP...This isn’t her fault…” Faith runs a hand through her hair with a sigh, “Don’t punish her for standing up for me..”

“I’m happy she stood up for you, but fighting? Physically fighting in an away arena? Come on. I have to take action regardless if it was you, her, a player, anyone. Those are the rules. I said I would take action next time around. You’re just lucky it wasn’t you Faith and I’m not using the clause against you because I like you both. Something like this is grounds for termination but because no one was seriously injured, there was no media attention and it was quiet I’m not going there. You both are important to this office. I couldn’t afford loosing you both. As for the BOTH of you, I told you two last time. I’m done with this. I don’t want to talk to you again. I’m serious.”

“Don’t worry JP, there’s not going to be any more problems.” Faith nods quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“You can both go. Shayna, go home. Suspension starts immediately.” JP nods at them sitting back in chair as both girls get up from their seats.

“Sure thing.” Shayna sighs walking to the door. “I’ll just get my stuff and head out.”

“Faith… one more thing.” JP calls out as they reach the door.

“Yeah, JP?” Faith looks back at him from the door.

“I’m sorry about… yanno, everything. He’s hurt though and I don’t think it was intentional.”  JP frowns.

Faith nods, “I hope he is hurting...” she walks out of the office.

Shayna walks over to her desk picking her purse up from underneath, pulling her phone out as she waits for Faith to come out of JP’s office. Seconds later, Faith walks out scowling as she looks at Shayna giving her a sympathetic frown.

“I’m sorry that this happened like this. You getting suspended for me and my problems,” Faith sighs sitting on the edge of Shayna’s desk.

“It’s two days off. There’s so much I can do! Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t force me to punch her or rip her extention out. It was well worth it though.” Shayna smiles putting her coat on. “I’m going to go see what Tristan is up to since there was no morning skate. I’ll probably go get my nails done. I could clean my apartment…. ha! Who am I kidding? I’m probably going to Tristan’s and never leaving until game time. Which by the way, I need to go find a ticket. I guess I’ll hit the box office before I go.”

“I’m sorry, Shayna,” Faith holds her arms up for a hug.

“It’s ok, stop saying sorry for Christ sake,” Shayna hugs her. “I’ll let you know where I’m sitting later. I’ll probably end up up by you, JP be damned. I’ll text you in a bit.” She picks up her bag, taking out of her sunglasses before she slings it on her shoulder. “Have fun.”

*********

 


	19. Acceptance is the key to be to be truly free....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shayna is suspended.... here's what she did with that time... for a bit. :D lol Also a little Faith and Ollie in the middle there because, yanno, gotta keep them going. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't have something picked out for this chapter title because there wasn't much going on but some fun stuff but then I remembered about Olls and Faith. This title is from Katy Perry "Unconditionally". It seemed to go with that small bit. 
> 
> Again, kudos and comments are what we thrive over! Appreciate everyone that is reading this! <3 Kisses! :)

Shayna pulls her SUV into the guest parking of Tristan and Gavin’s apartment building putting the truck into park. She reaches over to her purse pulling out her phone with a smirk.

**Shayna (9:31am):** _Good morning sunshine! I hope you are awake._

She sends the text, waiting for a response. A few minutes go by with no answer. Shayna checks the time on her phone, biting her nail unsure what she should do. Shaking her head she turns the truck off, grabs her purse and heads to the main lobby of the building. Just as she steps inside the building, her phone vibrates in her pocket.

**Tristan (9:38am): _Nope. I’m not._**

**Shayna (9:39am):** _Well you should be. I am downstairs. Tell them to let me in._

**Tristan (9:39 am): _Wait, you’re where? Here_?**

Shayna laughs, putting her phone back in her pocket as she walks across the large, bright lobby, approaching the front desk.

“Hi, I’m here to see Tristan Deniau,” she smiles at the older, white haired security guard sitting behind the marble high desk.

He looks at her, scanning her from head to toe with narrow eyes. “Tristan… Deniau. The Scarlet player? I’m not supposed to let anyone up who hasn’t been invited or given prior notice. Policy… you understand.”

“I have been invited. He was sleeping and didn’t tell me his apartment number,” Shayna gives him a sad pout hoping it will give her an advantage.

“You can stop pouting. You’re not the only female to come to this desk and give me the puppy eyes to see a Scarlet player. Give me a minute.” he slides his chair across the desk grabbing the phone punching in some numbers. “Good morning,” he mutters into the phone. “Mr. Deniau please. Yes, you have a guest that isn’t registered with us. Yes…Of course.” He hangs up the phone, sliding the chair back across the desk looking at Shayna. “If you could please give me your driver’s license so I can put it in our system.”

Shayna smiles opening her purse pulling out her wallet, handing over her card. He takes it from her placing it into the scanner next to his computer screen. He clicks around on the computer a few seconds as the card goes through.

“Here you go. Apartment 1041. Have a good day Miss Cavalcante,” he hands the card back to Shayna.

“Thank you so much,” Shayna slides the card back into her wallet, dropping it in her purse as she heads for the elevators. She presses the button, taking in her appearance in the metal doors as she waits, tossing her hair back over her shoulder with a grin. Stepping on to the elevator, she presses the button for the 10th floor, rocking on the heels of her Converse impatiently. The doors open to the poshly decorated hallway, a sign in front of her give the directions of the apartment numbers. She turns to the left heading down the hall to 1041, passing the large windows overlooking the Seattle skyline. Stopping at 1041, she knocks softly on the dark grey door waiting for an answer.

The door lock clicks moments later, opening slowly as Tristan’s face appears around the back. He squints at her from behind his glasses, smiling as he opens the door wider so she can step in.

“Hey,” he leans down giving Shayna a quick kiss, closing the door behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“Good morning. Well, I wanted to tell you in person…” Shayna trails off getting a good look at him standing in the small hallway, her mouth going slack as she takes in the sight of him.

Tristan runs a hand through his sleep messy hair, yawning. “You act like you’ve never seen me shirtless in a pair of shorts before,” he laughs walking away from her into the open space. “As you were saying, what did you want to tell me?”  He walks over to the large stainless steel refrigerator pulling out a bottle of water.

Shayna walks into the large empty room looking around as she unbuttons her coat, dropping it on the couch.  A large, black leather sectional sits in the middle of the room overlooking a 55 inch flat screen mounted on the wall. A small storage cabinet sits below it, cable box, Xbox, Playstation, controllers, games and random remotes scattered across it’s top. There’s random hockey gear thrown around the room, sticks sitting against the wall closest to the door, some bundled together, some loose. Two black roller suitcases are open with random clothing in them sit along the breakfast bar wall.

Tristan stands behind the bar, drinking the bottle of water watching Shayna. Behind him is a small kitchen with dark wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, multi colored glass tile backsplash gives the room a little color. Random bottles of supplements and drink powders line the granite countertops.  He shrugs looking at her, “I told you we didn’t have much. We are barely here and when we are, it’s just the two of us, or one of us.”

“White walls though? No curtains?” Shayna rolls her eyes walking around the counter. “Do you even have like plates and pots?”

“Yeah, we do. We’re not that completely helpless,” Tristan scoffs leaning down to open one of the cabinets below him to show her revealing nothing inside. “Ok, maybe not this one,” he opens and closes the door quickly. “Nothing in that one.”

Shayna laughs hopping up on the counter in front of him. “Good one. You have no idea where anything is do you?”

“Yes I do. But that’s not what we were talking about,” he pouts, turning around to throw the now empty water bottle out in the bin under the sink.  “So, why are you not at the office.”

“Oh, yeah that. So, I was suspended, two games. I mean days, two days. I also had to pay for my ticket to tonight’s game if I wanted to attend. JP felt he needed to make a point and because I physically assaulted someone, it was me who was punished,” she grins as she kicks her legs out in front of her, clearly amused.

“Suspended? Did you fight it? Does Faith know?” Tristan crosses his arms, leaning back against the counter next to her. “He can’t suspend you for defending yourself and your friend, your co-worker at that.”

“I didn’t. It wasn’t worth it. I mean he was right, it’s not tolerable behavior for a staff member. I wouldn’t change what I did a million times around. And yes Faith was there. She begged a little with JP to not blame me for it, but he wasn’t having it. I’m alright with it, what are you going to do you know? He did say that’s the end of it though, if anything else happens we’re done. He told me to go home that my suspension was effective immediately so here I am… Surprise!” Shayna holds her arms up at him, giggling.

“As long as you’re not upset over it. I could get you a ticket if you want.”  

“Nope, picked one up before I left the arena. I’ll end up in the suite regardless. Security loves me so it doesn’t matter where I end up, I’ll get there.” Shayna leans over resting her cheek on his warm shoulder.

Gavin opens his bedroom door, rubbing his eyes as he strolls out into the open area, clad in only a pair of black boxer briefs. He makes his way into the small kitchen, eyes still slightly closed as he opens the refrigerator door grabbing a bottle of water. He turns, opening the bottle as he puts his head against the fridge door taking a small sip of the water.

Shayna looks at Tristan with an eyebrow raised receiving a shrug in return. She tries to stifle a chuckle watching Gavin lean against the appliance drinking his water, still unaware of them sitting across from him.

Tristan coughs into his hand trying to get his attention. “Gav…”

Gavin whips around, his eyes wide as he takes in Shayna and Tristan at the counter. Shayna gives him a little wave, her hand on her mouth holding back her laughter.

“Oh fuck, FUCK!” Gavin chokes out as he looks down at himself, his hand trying to cover his lower half, failing miserably. “Oh well… what the fuck, Tristan? Couldn’t tell me we had company?”

“You were passed out when I opened your door. Not my problem,” he shrugs with amusement.

Gavin’s bedroom door opens again. Ella slips out trying not to make eye contact with anyone, her head down with the hood up on her sweatshirt, her blonde straight hair sticking out to the side. She leans down grabbing her boots off the floor from next to the doorway.

“Els, how’s it going?” Shayna calls out from the kitchen, leaning forward on the counter looking past Gavin.

Ella looks up, her face red with embarrassment. “Oh Shay, hey…. Tristan. Ok, awkward.”

“Nice to see you two are hitting it off,” Shayna muses.

“Yup, getting off in more ways than one!” Ella grins putting her boots on over her leggings.

“Ella!” Gavin croaks, the plastic bottle in his hand crunching.

“I’m being truthful,” Ella smiles walking over to kitchen area. She steps next to him, reaching up on her toes, placing a kiss on Gavin’s lips. “Later love.”

Gavin’s shoulders relax as he slides an arm around Ella’s lower back, pulling her in closer deepening the kiss. Ella taps his chest, breaking their kiss as she points to Shayna and Tristan. “Oh, sorry,” he mutters with a soft grin on his face. “I’ll see you later.”

“Shay, Tristan, thanks for making this weird. See ya,” Ella waves as picks her bag up from the couch heading towards the door.

Shayna waves over her shoulder with a smirk, “Bye!” Turning back, Gavin is glaring at the two of them. “Oh, hush yourself. Please… I saw those soft love eyes. You luuuurrrrvvveeee her.”

“Ughhh,” Gavin huffs, throwing his empty bottle at Shayna, stomping of to his bedroom. “You guys are gross. Don’t fuck on the kitchen counter. I do eat my meals there sometimes.” He shuts his door with a slam.

“Well then,” Tristan laughs, rubbing the side of his neck.

“You had no idea she was here?” Shayna asks looking at him confused. “You mean to tell me you didn’t hear them? Seriously?”

“My room is on the other side of the apartment,” he points to the door across the living room. “Unless she was literally swinging from the lights in there, screaming from the top of her lungs, I wouldn't hear her. Maybe they were being considerate.”

Shayna tilts her head, “Really though?”

Tristan shakes his head, stepping away from the counter holding his hand out to help Shayna down from her seat. “Come on…” He pulls her in the direction of his bedroom across the large room.

“There’s a pretty view from the living room here. No balconies?” Shayna asks stopping to look out the large windows next to Tristan’s door.

“Oh there is, on our rooms,” Tristan looks over his shoulder at her, giving her hand a tug as he opens his bedroom door. “Obviously, I was just sleeping before you got here so, don’t judge me. Oh, wait..” he lets go of her hand striding across the room to the dark drapes, tossing them back letting the light flood the room. “Curtains…” he smiles pushing the material back.

Shayna steps into the room smiling as she takes in his space. “I’m proud. Not of the white walls, but I’ll let that slide.”

A king size black wooden sleigh bed sits in the center of the wall on the left side of large room, the dark grey comforter sitting tossed around on of top light grey sheets on the mattress, a few regular sized pillows strewn about the head of the bed against the dark wood. A long narrow dresser with 6 drawers sits along the right side in between two large sets of windows, a big flat screen tv mounted just above it. Folded clothes sit neatly on top of the dresser along with a belt, and three black picture frames. Two pairs of dress shoes and a few pairs of sneakers sit just at the bottom below the last drawer. Directly across from the main door, double glass sliding doors sit leading out to a balcony over looking downtown Seattle. Just to the left of the main door on the same wall, a large walk in closet is tucked into the corner, the door slightly ajar.

Shayna steps to the dresser, dropping her purse in an open spot catching a glimpse of the pictures frames. The smaller of the three holds a picture of a small mini collie sitting in what looks like a backyard, a ball in it’s mouth. The middle is a picture of Tristan and Shayna from their dinner night in San Diego, Tristan kissing Shayna’s cheek in their matching sweatshirts. The last and largest one contains a picture of Tristan, his brother and his parents.

Shayna smiles reaching out grabbing the middle one of the two of them, turning to Tristan. “You printed this?”

“I like it,” he smiles giving her a shoulder shrug as he sits on the side of the bed. “It was our first official picture.”

“You’re so cute. I take it this is your dog?” Shayna points at the smaller frame as she slides the middle one back in it’s place.

“Yeah, that’s Lexi. She stays with my parents during the season.”

“She’s cute. And, your family?” Shayna picks up the last frame.

“Nope, they came in the frame,” Tristan deadpans. “I just pasted myself in there.”

Shayna glares at him, shaking her head looking back down at the picture. “You look like your mom more. You have her eyes. Obviously you got your height from your dad though. You and your brother look a like,” she looks over at Tristan and back at the picture.

“So what you’re saying is, he’s good looking as well?” Tristan smirks, as he leans back on the pillows.

“I didn’t say that!” Shayna puts the picture back down in it’s spot quickly, with a furrowed brow. “I didn’t say that…”

Tristan laughs at her, yawning in between. “So, that’s the tour. You have now officially been around my apartment. Congratulations on being underwhelmed. It’s a lot… I know.”

“I mean the way you kept saying that you guys have nothing, I was half expecting a mattress on the floor or less elaborate bedroom furniture. I mean, I’m a girl who watches HGTV like it’s my life, so there is no comparison.” Shayna kicks off her white Converse placing them next to his sneakers at the end of the dresser. She walks around the foot of the bed hopping over Tristan’s legs, rolling to her back. “Oh my god, this mattress is so soft! So much softer than mine. Oh, can we bring this to my place? You spend more time there anyway.... I’d never leave bed.” Shayna pulls the comforter around herself, snuggling into the down with a happy sigh, closing her eyes. “Goodnight.”

Tristan chuckles sliding down on his side to face Shayna. “I’m not an animal, I do like some comfort you know. I do like your place more because it feels… warmer? It feels more like home. If you wanna drag this over there, fine with me. I wouldn’t leave either, especially because you’re there,” he smiles, eyes locked on her.

“You’re so adorable! Ugh, all day in bed, especially with you, that would be nice.” Shayna softly replies. “What time do you have to leave later? I’ll probably just stop home to get my jersey before the game.” Shayna asks cracking an eye, looking up at him.

“Have to be at the arena at 4:30, 5. You don’t have to get a jersey, I’ll give you one,” Tristan rolls off the side of the bed, strolling to the closet. He opens the door, clicking the light on. Shayna sits up watching him dig around the rack of material. He reaches up pulling a red and a white jersey down. “Juniors or Scarlet? They might be huge on you though, but they’re both game worn.”

“You have your juniors one here?”

“I had some friends from home come down. They took them from my parents. I just figured I’d keep a hold on them until I got back after the season.”

“Oh yeah, I remember them. Nice guys, didn’t understand a lot of English though.” Shayna laughs. “I don’t know which I want, but leave them out. I’ll decide later.”

“Fine with me.” Tristan nods hooking the jerseys on the door, switching the light off. He climbs back into the bed, sliding in next to Shayna. “Blanket hog…” he tugs at the comforter as Shayna drops back down on her side, wrapped completely up from head to toe.

“No, but I’m comfy!” Shayna whines, clinging to the grey material, her face barely visible.

Tristan pokes at her hoping to dislodge the comforter. “Fine, if you won’t share…” he sits up, reaching over to pick her up, blanket and all, lifting her on top of him. “You can just be my blanket then.”

“Fine with me,” Shayna huffs rolling on to her stomach to lay on top of him. She takes off her glasses handing them to him to place on the side table along with his.

They lay there in silence a few minutes, Tristan occasionally petting the blanket where Shayna’s head is.

Shayna starts laughing hysterically under the comforter, shaking lightly.

“What are you laughing about?” Tristan pushes the blanket down revealing a mess of Shayna’s reddish brown hair.

“I can’t nap in jeans.” Shayna giggles.

“Who said anything about napping?” Tristan smirks brushing her hair out of her eyes as Shayna throws the blanket back. “Oh no you don’t. You’re in my bed,” he slides out from under the remaining blanket catching Shayna’s shoulder before she rolls away. He pulls her to him as he rolls over her, his leg sliding between hers, his thigh resting at her center as he leans down to her, his lips crashing to hers.

****  
  


**********

**Shayna (8:01pm):** _I swear this sitting like a normal person sucks. I’m so lonely._

**Faith (8:02pm): _This sucks. You have a ticket...just smile at Earl and come up. I’m miserable. Oliver’s scored twice. I’m over being here. :(_**

**Shayna (8:02pm):** _I KNOW! He’s on fire. Just pent up aggression!_

**Faith (8:03pm): _I can’t even enjoy this game._**

**Shayna (8:04pm):** _All I know is at least someone is scoring. Is it always this boring down here? Fuck it, I’ll see you in like 5. I need another drink. Might as well be drunk on my own money. :D_

**Faith (8:05pm):... _BYOB, not in the mood to drink._**

**Shayna (8:06pm):** _I’ve got nowhere to be tomorrow…. might as well. Be there in 5._

Shayna stuffs her phone in her back pocket, finishing the rest of the beer in her cup as she walks up the steps to the concourse. She nods at the attendant at the concession stand handing over some cash in exchange for a full cup. Walking over to the suite level stairs, she looks around at the security standing at the top of the stairs.

“How is everyone doing this evening?” Shayna smiles as she reaches the top.

“Miss Shayna, no dress today?” Earl nods at her taking in Tristan’s large jersey, jeans and sneakers. “Day off today?”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that. I’m just going over to the box if that’s ok. I just don’t have my ID, that’s not a problem right?” She grins giving him a sweet smile.

“As if I don’t know who you are… go right ahead babygirl.” he steps out of the way holding his hand out to her.

“You’re a gem, Earl.” Shayna giggles walking around the corner to the suite. She pushes the door open with a smile. “Who’s missed me?”

JP swings around in his chair looking at the door. “What the hell are you doing here?” he gapes at her.

Shayna holds up a ticket as she walks towards him. “Paid my way here. I didn’t even ask Tristan just so you know. Ticket prices are obnoxious by the way.” She drops the ticket on the countertop in front of him. “Not my fault security around here likes me.”

Faith peeks over the seats “JP Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn,” she pouts at him. “I need her”

JP rolls his eyes at them, “Jesus, fine. Only because I can’t stand the pouting all period. I was just going to leave. Audrey isn’t even here to be the buffer.”

Faith smiles, “Thank you, best boss ever.” She turns back to the ice, putting her feet up on the chair in front of her. “Fucking two goals and an assist in the first period? He should be a douchebag more often.”

“He’s playing with purpose I guess,” Shayna climbs over Faith’s legs dropping into the seat next to her, putting her cup in the holder between them. “We are winning though, so I mean, I can’t say anything.”

“If he gets a hat trick, Shayna, I’m getting up and leaving.” Faith huffs.

“The fuck you won’t… If I have to sit on you, you will stay here. Rule one. You don’t miss a game.... remember.”

“Why are you on his side?!” Faith pouts at her.

“I am on no one’s side except Team Scarlet at the moment and they better win.” Shayna smirks.

“I hope they fucking lose, by a hundred.” Faith crosses her arms. “TWO hundred.”

Shayna shakes her head. “Whatever. Just keep sitting there pouting. We’ll be better off.”

The second period goes by quickly, as both teams go end to end with the puck. The Scarlet end up netting another goal putting them up 3-0. The third period was rough for the Scarlet, but they manage to hang on to the lead. Oliver scores his 3rd goal of the game putting the scarlet up 4-0. The Phantoms score three quick goals in a 5 minute bringing the score to 4-3. In the last minute of the game, Hunter puts in an empty net goal, and the Scarlet win the game 5-3.

“Great, now I have to listen to that numbnuts talk, don’t I?” Faith throws her cup at the chair in front of her.

Shayna sighs, “Tradition. We don’t leave yet. Just two minutes.”

“With three goals and an assist, your first star of the night….Oliver Moreno!” The PA announcer booms through the arena as the Scarlet fans errupt with cheers. Oliver skates out onto the ice saluting the fans with his stick, and skating over to Katrina, the network analyst, for his post game interview.

“Oliver, first of all, congratulations on an amazing game tonight. You looked like you were skating comfortably out there, going hard to the net. What do you think the difference was tonight?” Katrina asks, holding the mic for him.

Faith grumbles mocking him, “Well Katrina, I’m actually surprised I skated so fast because I’m so full of shit I can't believe it didn't weigh me down…”

Shayna cracks up laughing looking at Faith scowling in her chair.

“Well, I felt like tonight I had something to prove. I didn’t make the best choices in Dallas, and I know that for us to be successful, I have to do better. I had to be better. So I just put my head down and went as hard as I could. It’s not about me getting the points on the board, as long as the team comes out on top...” Oliver nods, looking up towards the suites.

“Ohhhh,” Shayna’s eyes go wide.

Katrina nods “Thats so true, Oliver. There was a bit of a scare there late in the third with the Phantoms putting in those three late goals. What do you think happened there?”

“I think we got a little too comfortable. That’s the thing with this game, you always have to be on your toes. Nothing is ever guaranteed. You never know what’s going to get thrown at you and you need to react. We made some poor choices, and it cost us there, but luckily, coach called that timeout and we had a chance to regroup. We came back strong at the end of the game and were able to pull out the win there.” Oliver again stays focused on the suite, despite the arena being dark.

“Great job on the hat trick and congrats on the win! Oliver Moreno, your first star!” Katrina holds the mic out for Oliver to thank the crowd.

“Thanks, Katrina...and real quick - I just want to say, I know you're here somewhere, Faithy. I miss you and I love you. Tonight was for you… Thanks guys!” He waves his stick in the air, turning to skate off the ice.

Faith stares at the ice, her eyes welling with tears watching him skate off. She stared at her hands before wiping her cheeks. “Can we go yet?” She sniffs, touching her eyes to make sure her eyeliner wasn't running.

Shayna looks over at Faith watching her, “Are you serious right now? I’m sorry, did you just hear that? He just publicly apologized to you and confessed his love to you. You know, I’m not exactly Pro-Oliver currently, but you have to give him some credit. He just poured his heart out… via hockey terms, but none the less. You need to talk to him, Faith.”

“I don’t have anything to say to him, Shayna…” Faith frowns shaking her head. “I don’t...I can’t…”

"You do, you can, and you ARE" Shayna grabs her arm, pulling her up from her seat. "Let's go.."

Faith reluctantly makes her way downstairs with Shayna, sitting on one of the bar stools in the lounge anxiously playing with the cap on her water bottle. "Shayna I rea--"  
  
"Shut up, Faith. I love you. You are my best friend, but seriously? Just shut up. You two are going to talk, and you're going to figure it out. I can't take any more of this. You love him, Faith, and he loves you. Did he fuck up? Yes. But he knows he fucked up and he's sorry....he's SORRY, Fay." Shayna rubs her shoulder. "Am I pissed at him? YES. But you and I both know that you belong together. This stupid fight isn't going to change that. You just need to talk. Yell at each other. Get angry, have some steamy hot make-up sex and get it all out there...the boys should be out soon. I'm going to go find Tristan, and YOU are going to talk to Oliver."  
  
Shayna grabs her clutch and pushes open the lounge doors, exiting into the hallway.  
  
Faith's mind was racing a mile a minute. What was she going to do? Should she yell at him? Should she say anything? Should she even be there? Did she want to forgive him? Could she forgive him? She sighs taking a sip from her bottle, looking towards the door.  Gavin was the first one into the lounge, his hair slick from the shower, his suit jacket unbuttoned.  
  
"Faith..." He smiles walking over giving her a big hug. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you here."  
  
"Thanks Gavs," Faith speaks softly, hugging him tight. "But I wouldn't get too excited."  
  
Gavin pulls back giving her a look, "Oh Faithy....you two need to make up. He's acting like a teenage girl with her period. He's gutted." Gavin pouts at her. "Just talk to him."  
  
"That's why I'm here, Gavs." Faith nods with a small smile.  
  
Gavin kisses her cheek, "I'm going home, the 3rd really kicked my ass tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiles heading out the back of the lounge towards the exit doors.  
  
A few more players meander in slowly to meet their friends and family members.  Shayna and Tristan stroll in hand and hand, both giggling.    
  
"You're gross...go home" Faith smiles at them.  
  
"Nothing?" Shayna frowns.  
  
Faith shakes her head, "I don't know why I'm even here..."  
  
Tristan kisses Shayna's cheek softly, "I'll be right back," before scooting out the doors back into the hallway. He jogs down the hallway busting into the locker room staring at Oliver who is sitting at his stall, slowly putting his stuff together.  "You have about 2 minutes before Faith walks out of that lounge, Oliver...don't blow it again." He points towards the door.  
  
Oliver lifts his head looking towards Tristan, "....Faiths here?" His eyes lighting up at the mention of her name.  
  
  


Tristan nods, "She's been sitting in there waiting for you. Shayna is currently trying to convince her not to leave..."  
  
Oliver hops up from the bench throwing his gear back into his stall quickly. "Thanks, Deni."  
  
Tristan nods turning towards the door, "I'll go stall her...just hurry up." He walks back down into the lounge sliding an arm around Shayna. "Sorry, had to pee." He kisses her cheek. "We should go..." He squeezes her hand with a nod.  
  
Shayna nods with a smile, before turning back to Faith. "Text me, ok?"  
  
  


Faith nods, "I'm not sitting here all night though, Shayna. Five minutes and I'm leaving." She set her water bottle down on the table crossing her arms.  
  
Shayna gives her a hug before taking Tristan's hand again. "Bye boo." The pair walks out the back door of the lounge.  
  
The loud thud of the hallway door causes her to jump in her seat. Looking up she's met with the anxious eyes of Oliver in the entryway. "Faith..."    
  
"Hi.." She breathes softly her eyes devouring him from head to toe. There was no denying, he looked damn good. Light gray suit pants which seem to cling in all of the right places. A black button down shirt tucked in under a matching grey vest. Suit jacket tossed over his arm. He cleaned up nice. Really nice.  
  
Oliver slowly walks over towards Faith, never taking his eyes off of her. He gently places his jacket on the chair next to her.  
  
Faith frowns, picking at her nail polish, her gaze dropping to her hands.  
  
"Baby, look at me..." Oliver speaks softly, reaching out to her.  
  
Faith ducks quickly away from his touch. "I'm not your baby."  
  
"Faith I'm sorry, ok? I. Am. Sorry.  I don't know what else I can say or do to make you understand that." Oliver grumbles, frustrated.  
  
"Maybe I don't care that you're sorry, Oliver. Maybe sorry isn't good enough this time. It's always sorry sorry sorry. How about you stop fucking breaking my heart so you won't need to apologize." Faith snaps looking up at him, her blue eyes clouded over.  "It doesn't matter. I don't know why I'm surprised...I should never have come here..." Faith grabs her clutch from the tabletop, hopping off the stool.  
  
Oliver reaches out grabbing her hand, "Oh no you don't, we're not finished here."  
  
Faith whips around, her right hand connecting with his face, a loud slap echoing through the room. "Get off me Oliver." She tugs at her arm with no avail.  
  
"God DAMNIT Faith" Oliver winces as the sting radiates through his cheek. "STOP THIS." Oliver growls at her, grabbing her other hand, holding her in place. "Three years ago I walked out on you and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. I'm not letting you walk out on me. Not on us Faith."  
  
Faith shoves against him, trying desperately to get her hands free "SHUT UP I DON’T CARE"  
  
"YES YOU DO" Oliver yells right back at her, the anger in his voice startling her. "YOU CARE  AND YOU FUCKING KNOW IT. AND THATS WHAT SCARES YOU." He lets go of her hands with a frustrated shove, stepping back from the table. His cheeks bright red, his eyes brimming with tears.  
  


"Faith, I fucking love you so much. I can't breathe without you. The last couple of days..." He shook his head looking away from her, his voice softening, "these last few days...not seeing you smile, or hearing you laugh, or waking up next to you...have been the hardest days I've ever had to go through. Faith you're my whole world...without you...there's a piece of me missing."  
  
Oliver steps back, quickly swiping across his face with the back of his hand, "I know that I hurt you. I know that. But I'm sorry. I don't know how else to say that I'm sorry. It was a reaction and I was wrong. If I could take it all back I would. But I can't....I can't change things." He sighs dropping his head, "Tell me what to do, Faith. Anything. Tell me what you need me to do to make things right again between us."  
  
"How can I trust you again? You're supposed to be faithful and loyal to ME." Faith frowns, tear stains dripping down her cheeks. "I'm supposed to come first. Not some ‘classless whore’ you fucked in Dallas. You kiss ME every night and promise ME the sun, moon and stars Oliver, but the reality of it is that you can't give them to me. You're not all in." Faith shakes her head sadly.  
  
‘I AM all in. I’m 100 percent all in.” Oliver takes a step closer to her, slowly closing the gap between them.  

Faith holds out her hand to halt him, “Don’t, Oliver. Just...don’t.”

Oliver stops briefly, "I love you, Faith..."  
  
"You know all the right things to say, Ollie...but your follow through is shit." Faith looks up at him hesitantly, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, eyeing his movements. “I love you doesn’t always fix things.”  
  
“And sometimes it does…” Oliver continues moving close to her, his hand slowly reaching out for her, cupping her cheek gently.  "Faith, baby, I’m so sorry..."  
  
"I can't do this..." Faith trails off at the touch of his hand. Her eyes closing slowly, her head pressing gently into his hand, savoring his touch.   
  
"Faith, please..." Oliver speaks softly, barely above a whisper. His thumb lightly rubbing over her cheekbone.  
  
"I love you, Oll's..." Faith opens her eyes, staring back into his. "So much it scares me." She reaches up, bringing her hand to his cheek where she slapped him, the skin pink and inflamed. She leans forward pressing her lips gently against the tender skin. “I don’t want to fight…”  
  
"Faith..." He tangles his hand in her hair, pulling her mouth down on his.  
  


Faith sighs against his lips, her arm sliding around his neck as Oliver parts her lips slowly, flicking his tongue out against hers.  
  
Oliver drops his arms around her waist, pulling her in close to him, pulling their bodies together as they kiss. After a few minutes of their heated embrace, Oliver steps back slowly, placing a few soft kisses against her lips. “I’m sorry, Faithy.”

Faith nods slowly burying her head in his neck, breathing in his scent.

"We should go home." He rubs her back gently, his fingers skimming along the soft material of her blouse.   
  


***************

"Shay.... Emergency! Do you think you can come down here to help coach with me tonight?" Everly asks, half sobbing into the phone. "Usually we have rotating parents come down to help out but Mr. Miller backed out and no other parent wants to step in. We are having a skate this afternoon before the game tonight at 7:00. I swear I'll owe you a favor! Please for the love of God, can you help me out? You know these kids... Please, please, please? I mean you were here the other day, you know them…."

"Yeah, I can do that. There's no game and I can come right from the office. What time is the skate at?" Shayna smiles into the phone grabbing a pen and post-it note.

"Oh god thank you! Skate is at 5, game at 7! You are a life saver!" Everly screeches into the phone, overly excited.

"I'm gonna go home, get changed and grab my skates. I'll see you at 5, alright?" Shayna nods as if Everly can see her.

"Yes! Shay, thank you so much again! Seriously thank you!" Everly yells as she hangs up the phone.

Shayna checks her watch as she looks around her desk. It's Saturday so it's not exactly necessary that she be at the office but with Christmas, the team making their hospital visits and other charities, and her suspension it's always good to put in a few hours here and there. Shayna grabs her cell phone to call Tristan.

"Hey, I was just going to call you..." Tristan answers after the first ring. "What's up?"

"I know we were going to have a quiet dinner this evening but Everly called and ask me to help coach the kids tonight."

"You're gonna coach? Really? I don't mean that to be mean but...."

"Do you think I can't do it?" Shayna muses, smirk on her face.

"I didn't say that." Tristan huffs. "Do you want me to come down? I can help if you want?"

"I'm going home to get changed and then I'm heading over to the rink, I suppose if you want to but I can't promise you won't be swarmed. 5 is skate practice and 7 is the game."

"Are you gonna wear a power suit? That would be hot."

"No! These are kids. I'll be happy if I make it out of there without Gatorade and puke stains."

"Maybe I'll stop by."

"Sounds good. I'll have my phone. I'll talk to you in a bit. Love you!"

"Don't kill any children. Love you too."

*****

Everly paces the locker room watching as Shayna ties her skates. "I'm sure this will go fine Ev, just stop pacing you're making me sick."

"I know, it's just I feel bad dragging you here," Everly pouts at Shayna, her goalie skate tapping on the padded floor below her.

"It's fine. I didn't have big plans tonight. Just a quiet night with Deni. Nothing crazy. Ok so, warm ups. Start with some stretches? We talk some line combos? D-pairs?"

Everly busts out laughing "We have been hanging out with the boys way too much. We have some combos but I mean it's not that serious. We can talk about it on the ice."

Shayna shakes her head as she stands, adjusting her Red Hawks track jacket. She grabs her gloves and stick from the wood bench next to her as she walks to the locker room door. "I'm gonna skate around a few minutes, get the rust out so I don't hopefully fall flat on my face in front of the kids."

"I'm gonna grab some of the gear and I'll see you out there. The kids will be here soon," Everly nods at Shayna, opening the door to her office.

Shayna walks out to the hallway to the tunnel, turning on the main lights for the kids to come in. She opens the double doors to the ice, thankful the main ice lights are on as she makes her way to the bench, grabbing a few pucks from the bucket by the boards tossing them out on the ice. Taking a look out at the ice, she take a deep breath as she skates out, taking a few laps with her stick trying to get used to holding it. She kicks a puck sitting on the blue line out in front of her catching up to it with her stick, passing it around in her hands. Confident she can skate with it, she heads in the direction of the goal, puck on her tape. Right, left, right, she snaps her wrist sending the puck flying at the netting right into the goal.

"YESSSSS!" Shayna throw her hands up in a small celebration for herself. She skates around back up to the blue line grabbing a few pucks, lining them up with a smirk at the top of the left circle. One after the other she sends the pucks flying at the net hitting four out of the five she lined up. A round of loud clapping sounds out from behind her from the bench.

"Can we sign you up over Deni? You have better accuracy than him," London laughs sitting on the bench.

"She'll fight too so that counts," Logan nods with a shrug.

"I've been benched in favor of my girlfriend," Tristan pouts, crossing his arms as he stands behind the group.

"As long as it isn't me, I'm down for it. You wanna be my linemate, Shay?" Gavin pipes up.

Shayna skates over to the bench giving the boys a bow as she stops in front of the boards. "What are you all doing here?"

"I told Gavin where I was going and he decided he needed to see you in action," Tristan shrugs still pouting.

"Everly told me the parents backed out of coaching tonight so I figured I'd swing by in case she needed help. You know how she gets especially with a team full of kids," London leans forward on the bench. "Lo came along just for fun. We just got here and heard you shooting. Didn't expect to see you tearing it up out here."

"Honestly it's been forever since I've done this and I didn't want to look horrible in front of the kids. Not that it matters really," Shayna holds her stick out rotating her wrist. "A bit stiff but still good. You guys might wanna vacate before the kids come out. We need them game ready and not freaking out that the Scarlet are here," Shayna gives them a stern look nodding at the door for the bench.

Gavin cracks up laughing, "So coach like already... Are you gonna make us ride the bikes next?"

"I will if you keep up the sass mouth," Shayna grins. Loud childlike voices echo from the doors behind them from the hallway. She nods in the direction of the noise, "Last chance. You guys can watch from the stands if you want."

"We can do that and stay out of the way," London stands from his seat pushing his hat back down. "We'll be watching."

The four of them file out of the bench area and out to the stands, Tristan hanging back waiting as Shanya steps up into the box.

"I can't believe you can shoot like that." he smirks looking at her, his hands pressing on each side of the small glass doorway as he leans into the bench. "I'm impressed."

"Probably not as hard as you. It was a fluke," Shayna blushes stepping into the doorway, her face level with his as she stands on her skates. She leans in giving him a quick kiss on the lips, poking his nose with her gloved hand. "I gotta go check the locker room."

"Good luck, coach," Tristan smiles stepping to the side to let her pass, watching her every move.

Shayna blows him a kiss as she walks down the hallway to the locker room, throwing the door open.

*****

“Jesus Christ… they’re so loud,” Shayna winces watching the kids mill about in the small locker room looking over at Everly. “Can we all head out to the ice, let’s start stretching!” she yells over the loud noise. “EVERYONE. TO. THE. ICE. NOW.”

“Come on, everyone out!” Everly taps her stick on the locker stall. “We can start with stretches I guess?”

Shayna nods walking out to the hallway, grabbing her stick. The girls make their way out on to the ice, Everly heading out to the goalies, Shayna trying to gather a few kids to stretch.

“Can we get some of you guys down over here to start stretching? Come on….” Shayna give the whistle around her neck a blow. A few of the kids come over, gathering around her. “Ok, so, let’s get our stretching on. Come on over here,” she waves them over to the far blue line. She catches a glimpse of Tristan and the boys behind the glass in the stands giving her thumbs up. She grins to herself trying to ignore them, their laughs echoing on the other side of the boards. “Ok, everyone down, right leg first.” Shayna drops down, kneeling on the ice, her right leg in front of her. The kids mimic her actions, nodding as they watch her. “Switch legs! Good job everyone! Ok, now lean forward, on all fours. Yes, good!” Whistles sound behind her as well as some banging on the glass.

“Is that…. Are those Scarlet players?” a kid on the far end looks up at the glass pointing. “I’m pretty sure that’s London.”

“Oh my god,” another calls out “Are they here to watch us?”

“Ok, calm down everyone. Yes, some of them are here, they’re friends of mine as you know. They came to watch the game. You have to be on your best behavior and maybe I’ll get you guys to meet them after the game ok?”

The kids look back and forth between Shayna and the glass, nodding obnoxiously.  

“Let’s get to shot practice! Everyone up, let’s get some pucks!” Shayna sits back on her heels, waving the kids to the bench. She turns to look over her shoulder briefly, catching the eyes of the boys. She smirks to herself, bending back down on her hands, sticking her ass out in the direction of the glass, stretching her leg out to her left. Laughter erupts behind her causing her to giggle as she switches legs. She swings her legs behind her giving her lower back and hips a good stretch. Banging on the glass brings her out of her stretch. She hops up on her skates swinging around to see Tristan standing at the glass, his eyes narrowed, his mouth in a thin line.

Shayna smiles, giving him a shoulder shrug as she skates past the glass tapping it with her stick stopping at the bench to grab a water bottle.

Everly skates up to her at the bench with a smile dropping her stick over the wall grabbing a bottle of water, “Giving him a taste of his own medicine?”

“You better believe it. He’s honestly dying over there. He’s probably taking so much shit right now from the rest of the guys.” Shayna laughs putting the cap back on her bottle bottle, watching over the kids skating around the ice. She catches a glimpse of Tristan sitting in the stands next to the boys, his feet upon the bleacher in front of him, elbows on his knees watching her intently. She gives a little wave to him only to receive nothing in return. “Oh, yeah he’s worked up.”

The kids skate around taking shots at the net on the goalies, most missing completely.

“I wish we could have the boys just come out and help out with the kids,” Everly sighs. “It probably wouldn’t make a difference.”

“It will be fine…” Shayna sighs sitting down on the bench.

*******

“Come on kids! Hustle on that blue line!” Shayna looks out on the ice from behind the bench as they kids skate around.

“Let’s get the switch going…” Everly taps two kids in front of her to stand and get ready for the lines to switch. “Remember, don’t go too quick otherwise it’s a too many men penalty, ok?”

The kids nod their helmeted heads as they watch for their teammates to skate to the bench. They quickly scurry off the bench out the door and on to the ice jumping into the play.

“Two minutes til the end of the period!” Everly calls out. “And it couldn’t come soon enough. Poor kids need a breather.”

The kids scrum in the corner for a few seconds, Everly’s kids breaking out with the puck taking off down the ice. Shayna looks at Everly then up at the scoreboard holding her breath catching the seconds left on the clock. The kid on the left skates hard past center ice, past the blue line into the zone to the hashmarks. The second skates hard up next to the first, tapping his stick as he skates up to the goal. The first looks up catching the goalie to his side getting him to drop as he quickly passes the puck to his left to the second child right to his stick. A quick snap of his wrist and the puck sails past the goalie’s leg, right into the back of the net. The kids throw their hands up in celebration.

“OH MY GOD THEY SCORED!” Everly jumps up and down behind the bench jumping into Shayna’s arms.

“GOD JOB!” Shayna claps as the kids skate back to the bench. “That was an amazing goal!”

“Do you think Logan saw it? I tried to do it just like him!” kid two beams up at Shayna from his seat. “I hope he saw it.”

“Everyone saw it! We’re proud of you! I’ll see what I can do about Logan. I’m sure he saw it though. They were all clapping for you,” Shayna pats the kid’s shoulder just as the buzzer sounds for the brief intermission.

“Ok, everyone, take a breather, go to the bathroom but hurry up if you do. Take a drink but we have to be back out here in 10 minutes ok? Off to the locker room with you…” Everly yells out over the chatter on the bench.

Everly and Shayna let the kids file out of the bench before walking out themselves to the locker room. Everly heads into her office quickly tossing papers around on her desk. Shayna grabs a bottle of Gatorade from the table set up for the team and takes a big gulp from the small bottle. The kids scramble around her, some going to the bathroom, some still amped up from the goal. Shayna heads out to the hallway to get away from the loudness of the locker room.

“It’s Coach Cavalcante!” London calls out from across the hallway by the refreshment stand.

Shayna waves as the boys walk over to her. “Hey.”

“You’re doing a hell of a job out there. You would think you two actually know what you’re doing out there,” Logan smirks as he takes a sip of his water.

“Shut your face, Logan,” Shayna slaps his arm nearly knocking the water bottle from his hand. “You forget that we’re around you jerks all the time. I also have a background in hockey and Everly plays. Plus we don’t even get the credit we deserve. The kid that scored came back to the bench and was like ‘DO YOU THINK LOGAN SAW? I TRIED TO SCORE JUST LIKE HIM!’ Pffft,” Shayna scoffs taking a sip of her Gatorade.

“Babe, you’re not even really their coach,” Tristan laughs looking at her as he shakes his head.

Shayna looks up at him with a pout, “Well thanks…” she turns back in the direction of the locker room doors. “You assholes better have brought your Sharpies because I’m telling those kids you’re signing for all of them. Pictures too...”

“I didn’t even say anything!” Gavin calls out with a slight whine in his voice. “Good going you dicks.”

Shayna laughs walking back into the locker room, a smirk on her lips as she spots Everly standing at the whiteboard, a marker in her hand as she draws plays.

“Ok, so you guys get it? Good,” Everly looks around the room surveying the little faces looking back at her with wide eyes. “Let’s try to get another goal and keep that defense tight! One more period to go! You guys can do it! Let’s head back to the bench!”

The kids cheer in agreement as they all scramble back to their stalls pulling their gear back on, some heading back out to the hallway.

“Head right to the bench, no stopping!” Everly calls out at the kids heading out the door. She turns to Shayna with a smile. “If we can pull this win out, it would be amazing. Did you see the boys?”

“Yeah, the peanut gallery had a lot to say. Well mostly Logan. London said good job. Tristan… he’s getting his ass beat later. Gavs didn’t even say anything. But they’re all gonna meet the kids after this thanks to Logan’s douche comments.” Shayna scowls with a slight eye roll. “Stupid asses.”

Everly laughs grabbing her clipboard from the table as well as a bottle of water. “Don’t worry about it. London said we were doing well though?” she smiles to herself walking out into the hallway.

“Yeah, just calm yourself. We need to go stand by the kids now,” Shayna puts her hands on Everly’s shoulders leading her out to the ice with a laugh.

The period starts up right as they make it to the bench. Their kids keep up the same momentum they had before the break in the periods. A small fight almost breaks out when two kids collide at center ice by accident. Everly screams from behind the bench at her kids to get them to keep calm as the kids gather at the center of the ice. Penalties bring them down to 4 on 4 play with some kids completely lost on the ice without their extra teammates.

Shayna looks up at the clock praying that the period will end sooner rather than later since no one has scored since the start of the 15 minutes. 2 minutes remain as she looks back down at the team heading into a face off to the right of their goalie.

“Keep that defense tight!” Everly yells out watching as their kids win the face off. “Good work!”

“Your forward is open! Up the short board! Hussle!” Shayna waves on the kids in red. “Go! Open ice!”

It’s a 3 on 2 as their kids skate hard up the center of the ice carefully passing to each other as the one in the center ends up with the puck in the offensive zone. He passes to his right as the second kid skates up past him quickly slapping the puck at the net and up past the goalie’s shoulder into the netting.

“OH MY GOD!” Shayna screams, her eyes quickly looking up at the time again as Everly jumps around next to her. “With 30 seconds to spare!”

The kids skate to the bench to celebrate with their teammates, glove bumps all around with happy cheers.

“Ok, 30 seconds left, let’s hold it down!” Everly claps trying to calm them down.

The last 30 seconds ticks off the clock after a quick face off at center ice as the horn sounds across the rink. The kids errupt in screams, cheering for each other as Everly fiercely hugs Shayna.

“We did it!” Thank you so much for being here!” Everly squeezes Shayna’s arms tightly.

“I’m so proud of them,” Shayna winces at the tightness of the hug. “You can let go now though Eves.”

“Sorry, sorry!” She steps back as the team files back to the bench. “Ok, to the locker room! I hear we might have a surprise, so everyone get in there, clean up and make sure your gear is all accounted for.”

The kids fight each other trying to make it out of the small space of the doorway to the hall and locker room.

Tristan appears as Shayna cleans up the water bottles from the bench area.

“Good job coach!” he smiles holding his hands out to help her with the overflow.

“I thought I wasn’t their real coach?” Shayna makes a face at him as she narrows her eyes, a plastic bottle crunching in her hand.

“Really?” Tristan rolls his eyes at her grabbing a few bottles from her arms. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Mmm, sure. Hope you’re ready, those kids are pretty excited in there to meet you,” Shayna slides past him dumping some of the bottles into the garbage can in the hallway making her way to the doors to the locker room.

Tristan grabs her arm pulling her to him as he pushes her against the wall between the doors, his arms framing her. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. I’m very proud of you.” He leans down to her ear, “You know this coach thing, it’s kinda hot. You should wear this jacket later.”

Shayna looks up at him with a smirk, “I’ll make you ride the bike you keep it up.”

“I’ll give you something to ride alright,” Tristan grins giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

“Jesus you’re ridiculous... “ Shayna giggles pushing at his chest as she slides out from under his arm. “Locker room, now,” she points as she opens the doors to the loud chatter of the children.

 


	20. Forever can never be long enough for me....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you have some kleenex ready for this chapter, you're gonna need them. This one is a good one. We hope you enjoy! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Train's "Marry Me".... ;)

Shayna taps her fingers on the high top table taking a sip of her soda looking around the restaurant waiting with a sigh. She wasn’t really in the mood to meet with Oliver, but she had received a bunch of happy face and heart emojis from Faith after she and Tristan had left her in the VIP room to wait for Oliver the other night. She checks the time on her phone sitting on the table in front of her making sure to note the time in case he was late so she could give him some trouble when he showed up.

 

“Sorry..sorry sorry!” Oliver pat her shoulder from behind, walking around the table, sitting across from Shayna. “Traffic from Pacific Place was a pure nightmare!”

 

“I guess that’s what happens when we have to meet across town so no one sees us,” Shayna laughs. “So, what is this about?”

 

Oliver reaches into his pocket, placing a small blue-green box gently on the table in front of Shayna.

 

Shanya holds her hand up to her mouth, “Oliver Scott, you shouldn’t have…”  she smirks reaching out for the small box. She opens it with wide eyes as she looks at the ring inside. “Holy fuck… it’s so beautiful Oliver!”

 

Oliver smiles widely, “It looks even better than I had imagined it would... “ he rubs the back of his neck, “now, it just needs a finger to live on…”

 

“How did everything go the other night? She was pretty adamant on not seeing you. The emjoi filled message says differently, but I just want to make sure,” Shayna frowns handing the box back to Oliver.

 

Oliver sighs nodding, tucking the box back safely in his pocket. “We fought...full out yelling, fought...but...the yelling caused the truth to come out, and the fact of the matter is, I can’t live without her, and she can’t live without me. She’s everything to me, Shay.”

 

“I’m so happy you guys worked it out. You two are really meant for each other. You know that? Second chances don’t come to people often and you honestly got lucky on that front. I’m really happy…” Shayna smiles reaching out for her glass, playing with the straw.

 

“Well… I owe a lot of that to you… I’m really sorry about everything that happened, Shayna.” Oliver frowns at her, “But..that being said… Faith is lucky to have you as a best friend, and I’m lucky that you’re so dedicated to her… I know you’ll always be there for her.”

 

“It’s ok. I liked having some time off from the office without anything to do. I actually saw Tristan’s apartment. I got to go to the rink and check out the kids’ hockey team. I’d do it a million times over, sticking up for Faith. She’s my best friend Oliver. I’d do anything for her. And I guess eventually you the same as long as you don’t repeat this fucking shit. You are so lucky Tristan was there because if he wasn’t, you would be walking around ball-less,” she grins sliding the napkin wrapped utensils around the table. “Dead…. just saying.”

 

Oliver smiles at her, “Atleast I know that Faith will always be taken care of, even after you eventually kill me for something....”

 

“Don’t make me do it and all will be fine. I was pushing for you just so you know like a day later. I knew you had nothing to do with what went on and it was a lot that happened at once. Me and my killer fighting skills and all.”

 

“I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt Faith, Shayna. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I had never seen the vindictive side of Sophia before. I’d never in a million years have imagined her saying those things… I figured it must have been a misunderstanding. And then when she kissed me…” Oliver shook his head, with a sigh “Before I could shove her off, you had her by the hair. And then everything happened so fast...and Faith was screaming, and I… “ Oliver took a sip of his beer “I’ve never been so scared, Shayna.”

 

“You should be scared of me….” Shayna chuckles to herself. “The shit she said to us at practice, just unbelievable. She said that Faith was just some whore that you used here. It was just… horrible. Faith took the high road, I threatened her a bit. But when she just went for it… I can’t. I don’t even want to talk about it.” she takes a sip of her soda. “Regardless, it’s behind us, it’s over. We are on to better things. So…. what are we doing here? Have you made your list?”

 

Oliver nods, pulling out a sheet of paper, with half a dozen places, notes, peoples names and addresses. “I’m not entirely sure what kind of stuff we need… but...this is a start.” He hands the paper over to Shayna.

 

“Mmm, ok.” Shayna takes the paper from Oliver, looking over his scribbles. “Ok. Places, that’s a start. If you want her to find items, that’s good. We can go that route…. We will have to make clues. I’ve seen people make books that had to be put together, pages at each stop. I’ve also seen puzzle pieces too that make a cool picture of the two of you. If it’s an item, we can attach the clue to it. If we have people give her the clues once she figures out the place, that’s cool too… What do you think?” Shayna rambles on looking at Oliver.

 

Oliver’s smile gets increasingly bigger as Shayna speaks, nodding as she goes along. “I love the ideas of the puzzle pieces… I can write the clues on the back, and when she puts them all together, it can be a picture of us. I really like that idea. Maybe each one of you girls can have a piece, and she can pick you guys up on the way... ?“

 

“I like that a lot! Oh, I can get the puzzle done and then once it’s together, I’ll have two made so it can be framed! I love craft projects,” Shayna claps her hands together bouncing in her chair. “Ok, so get me a picture of the both of you, I need a list of 9 places… Oh for christ sake.” she reaches over into her purse, grabbing a random scrap of paper and a pen. “Here, this list. Get me it. We can talk about clues. I need the picture though as soon as possible so I can order the pieces. I’ll drop messages to everyone about being a part of this.”

 

Oliver whips out his cellphone, typing in the unlock code. “How about this one…” Oliver pulls up the picture from Faith’s mom of them dancing in the kitchen, Faith’s head resting on his bare shoulder, his cheek resting on top of her head.

 

“Oliver, this is adorable!” Shayna takes the phone from his hand. “If this is what you want, I’m cool with it. You guys look so in love!” She clicks around sending herself the picture. “I sent it to myself.”

 

“Do you think thats ok? Should I use a different one? Go ahead.” Oliver motions to her to scroll through his pictures.

 

“Nah, first choice. And if you have it as a background or lock screen, it means a lot. I really like this.” Shayna smiles handing back the phone. “Alright. So I need more places. I’ll work on the girls. We can go from there.”

 

Oliver smiles rubbing his hand over his face, “My apartment… the arena… Nautical Mile… her apartment… the Space Needle… Ballast Park… Bone Point… Pikes Place Market…”

 

“You say my apartment and it’s over,” Shayna frowns.

 

Oliver rubs his hand over his neck with a grin “JP’s office… that’s 9 right?”

 

Shayna counts back nodding at him. “Yes! Ok good.” She types a note on her phone of the places. “Ok, when I get the puzzle in we will have to make clues. So start thinking of what you associate with those places.”

 

“I can already tell you...if you want to know…” Oliver shrugs with a smile.

 

“Oliver, really? At the fish market?” Shayna makes a gagging noise.

 

“It was our first date...we did the tourist thing. She was new to Seattle, I was new to Seattle. It was actually a lot of fun” Oliver chuckles remembering back. “That was such a good day.”

 

“I refuse to have you write as clues ‘we had sex here...’ because apparently… that’s all of Seattle.”

 

“I wouldn’t write that!” Oliver scoffs at her, “It’ll be way more tasteful than that…The first time we had sex...it wasn't just primal” He made a face at her. “I like to pride myself on being at least a little bit of a gentleman.”

 

“Good.” Shayna rolls her eyes at him. “I don’t need to know what the clues are right now, we’ll discuss it further when the puzzle comes in. It should only take a day or so, so get to writing.”

 

“When...when do you think I should ask her?” Oliver looks over at her, his eyes big. “Because honestly, now that I’m holding an engagement ring… it’s a lot more intimidating…”

 

Shayna shrugs, “We have Christmas coming up, New Years…. I don’t know what you plan on doing for All Star break but we usually go to Vegas to see her parents.”

 

“I don’t want to do it for Christmas or New Years… I want this to have it’s own special day” Oliver smiles a bit, “And Faith already told me about Vegas...as did her Mother...and Father…” he chuckles. “They may be more excited than we are.”

 

 

********

 

 

Faith stirs slowly, her hands rubbing over her face as the sunlight floods through the loft. Looking over to the other side of the bed for Oliver, Faith sees two pink boxes set neatly on his pillow. Looking to her left she finds a vase of gerbera daisies sitting on the nightstand, a white envelope with a heart resting on the flowers. She grabs the envelope, sliding a card out from the inside.

 

**_My sweet Faith._ **   
  
**_I bet you're wondering where I am and what the hell is in the two pink boxes. Let me tell you what's going on. For the last couple of weeks I've been wanting to do something special for you. But now more than ever you deserve a day to feel loved. Today is all for you, babygirl.  You of all people know I'm not very creative, so I enlisted some of your friends to help me out along the way. Nothing like a girls day, right? Every stop you make, you'll get a new pink box, complete with a clue to your next destination. At the end, maybe you'll just happen to bump into me... :)_ **   
  
**_And since walking all over Seattle can be exhausting, I got you girls a car.  This way you can all just relax and enjoy the little scavenger hunt I made for you...yes, there is liquor in the car (and beer for Shayna.) Max will drive you anywhere you want to go._ **   
  
**_The tiny pink box holds your first clue. Read it carefully. Hopefully most of them will be easy for you, but some may make you think. Make sure you collect all of your clues - they'll make something nice at the end._ **   
  
**_PS: Not that you don't always look beautiful, but the other pink box is a little something I picked up for you... wear it. All of it. :)_ **   
  
**_PPS: I love you._ **   
  
**_-Oliver_ **

  
  


“He’s crazy…” Faith grins to herself, sliding the note back in the envelope. She reaches across the bed, grabbing the two boxes, sitting them in her lap.

 

Faith opens the smaller package first, delicately unwrapping the light pink paper. She pulls out a box containing a puzzle piece shaped piece of wood, with the obvious imprint of a picture printed across it. It was an edge piece of the puzzle, so trying to figure out what the image could be was challenging with no other guidance. Taped to the back of the wooden piece was an index card in a plain white envelope with her name on it.

 

**_Hello Beautiful,_ **

**_This clue was an easy one- I handed it right to you, but your next clue you're going to have to work for. Let's test your memory. Do you remember the day we first met? Go to the spot where you took my breath away for the first time. Your next clue will be waiting. xO_ **

 

Faith's heart skipped a beat, reading the card. Of course she remembered where they first met, she remembered it like it was yesterday.

_Faith was delivering a stack of papers to the then-president of the Scarlet. As she was leaving his office she saw Oliver getting on the elevator as she approached. He held the door for her and they rode the elevator back down to the main level. She felt him staring at her the entire ride, his eyes taking every inch of her in. As she exited the doors, he called out to her, catching her off guard._

_"Faith..." Oliver smiles at her as she slowly turns around. "Hi..."_

_"...you know my name?" Faith eyes go wide, as she anxiously folds her arms across her chest._

_"ID badge" Oliver points to the card clipped to the bottom of her blouse, "I'm Oliver.." He extended his hand out to her._

_"I know..." She blushes as shakes his hand, his fingers lingering on hers as she let go. "I should go...I'm really busy, they keep me running around all day.." She pulls her hand back quickly, avoiding his gaze._

_"Are you free later?" Oliver asked, hopeful._

_"No..." Faith answered quickly, shaking her head._

_“No?” Oliver stepped closer to her. “Are you sure?”_

_"....Maybe." She looked up at him, a smile forming on her lips._

_“Maybe?” Oliver smiled at her, cocking his head to the side._

_"Well...I could be..." A slow blush creeped into Faith’s cheeks._

 

Faith grins to herself, looking back at the card before placing it on the bed next to her.  She pulls the larger pink box closer to her, tearing away at the paper. Inside she finds a plain white box. Pulling the lid off she removes a layer of tissue paper surrounding a beautiful pink and white dress that she had just been looking at with Shayna a few days prior. The dress was more casual than her usual work attire, so she hesitated buying it, but Shayna must have pointed it out to Oliver at some point. As she held the dress up with a giggle, a small pink Victoria's Secret bag fell from within the folds of the dress. Dumping out the contents of the bag there was a lacey bra with a matching panty set with a smaller index card.

 

_**Beautiful on the outside, Sexy on the inside. Today is all about you, but tonight is all about us. xO** _

 

A wave of heat rushed into her cheeks reading those few words. Faith wasn't big into lingerie or super sexy clothes other than the occasional flash of cleavage, but for Oliver? She'd wear anything if it made him happy.

 

Faith jumps out of bed taking a whirlwind shower. She quickly blow dries her hair before throwing on her gifts from Oliver. She snaps a quick photo texting it to him with a Winky face. Pulling the dress over her head she twirls in the mirror with a smile. She gathers her things, sliding the puzzle piece back into its box and heading downstairs. As she reaches the lobby she's greeted by Max, her driver for the day. He smiles at her escorting her to the ‘car’.

 

“Oh my god...is this for me?” Faith’s eyes went wide looking at black party bus sitting in front of the building.

 

"Miss McCallium, I'm supposed to take extra special care of you today...Everything we do today is for you.” Max smiles. “Where to first?"

 

"Olympicview Arena" Faith smiles climbing in the back of the vehicle.

 

The short drive goes quickly as Faith hops out at the VIP gate. She quickly makes her way inside, smiling at the security guards as she flashes her ID badge. As she makes her way up the back hallway on to the main concourse she spots Shayna waiting in front of the elevators, a small pink box in her hands.

 

"SHAYNA!" Faith grins running over to her. "So you're in on this?!" Faith gives her a big hug before twirling in front of her. She shakes her head with a smile, "you told him about this dress, didn't you!"

 

"I may have mentioned something about that...." Shayna giggles giving her another hug. "So. Tell me everything! Ollie wouldn't fill me in on the details, just to be prepared for a girls day!" She grins at Faith, lying through her teeth.

 

Faith quickly brings her up to speed, showing her the first clue and puzzle piece.

 

“This is the cutest idea ever!” Shayna smiles looking at the puzzle piece. “The only thing that Oliver said to me was to make sure that we have fun today, and anything goes. SOOO!” Shayna hands here the small pink box. “Your next clue!”

 

Similarly to the first box, Faith pulled the paper off, revealing another piece of the puzzle, not related to the first. She quickly pulled off the index card taped on the back of the wood, pulling it out of its envelope.

 

“WELL? What does it say?” Shayna chuckles, anxious to hear the next clue.

  
  


**_See, this isn’t so hard, is it? By now you’ve found Shayna - you’re welcome! It’s not a girls day without Shayna, and I know how much fun you two have together._ **

**_Speaking of fun, remember our first date? Remember when we decided that being tourists was a smart idea? Find Ella, and you’ll find you next clue.  xO_ **

 

“Aww your first date!” Shayna smiles. “Where did you guys go?”

 

“This is going to be a tough one...we went a few places...I don’t know which one it is.” Faith bites her lip, thinking back. “We started off at the wharf, walked up to Pike Place market...he bought me flowers,” her eyes lit up at the memory.

 

“But you hate flowers?” Shayna raises an eyebrow at her.

 

“It was the gesture, Shayna! He went out of his way to buy me flowers...he put thought into things!” She smiles giving her a shove. “We hit up a few bars, had some dinner, took a walk...to the space needle.” She giggles thinking back to that day. “Annnnnnd then he kissed me.”

 

“You guys make me sick,” Shayna chuckles. “So maybe the market?”

 

Faith nods, “probably...Let’s go!” Faith grabbed at Shayna’s hand taking off down the hallway and out the rear door of the arena.

 

“HOLY SHIT, IS THIS YOUR CAR?” Shayna gawks at the large black party bus.

 

“He’s ridiculous, right!?” Faith chuckles as Max opens the doors, “Pike Place Market, Max!” She grins at him excitedly. “Wait till you see inside!...After you!” she motions towards the inside.

 

Shayna hops inside looking around. “FAITH THERE IS A STRIPPER POLE AND A DISCO BALL. AND LIQUOR.” She holds up a bottle of Champagne, “Pass me a glass!”

 

Faith busts out laughing flopping down on the seat.

 

Faith holds up a flute as Shayna pours into the glass. “OH. I forgot...Ollie bought you beer because he loves you.” Faith reaches back into the small ice bin, pulling out a Molson.

 

“Yep, he’s a keeper.” Shayna chuckles taking the can from Faith popping it open, pouring it into another glass. “Bless his heart.”

 

“I wonder what he has up his sleeve…” Faith bites her lip with a smile. “This is seriously the cutest idea ever...I wonder what the picture says...or is?” She lays the two pieces on the seat, staring hard at them.

 

“It’s honestly creative, I’ll give him that.” Shayna holds up her glass. “Ok so… here’s to a fun day, whatever this puzzle is and to you and Oliver…. BUT FIRST… PICTURE!” Shanya pulls her phone out of her skirt pocket holding it up between them snapping a few pictures. “Ok good…. so yes, Fun, Puzzle and you two!”

  
  


“Aww, Shay!! I’m so glad you’re here!! Cheers!!” Faith clinks their glasses together before setting the glass down. “I’ll cheers, but I can’t bring myself to drink right now. I’m far too worked up about all this...” She smirks, “we get to pick up Ella next, god knows she’ll drink enough for us all….”

 

Shayna tosses back her head finishing off her glass. “..Not drinking? My bad,” she frowns putting the glass in the holder to her right. “Fine…..”

 

“Shay, by all means...drink up!” Faith grins, “you can get tanked, I don’t care. Just don’t puke on my puzzle!”

 

“Ha! I don’t…. well… ok. There’s the market! Good thing I wore sneakers with this outfit,” Shayna holds up her Converse clad foot. “Let’s go find Ella!”

 

Faith hops up as the bus comes to a stop, stepping out to the ground. “We ate at Kells Pub when we were here...I guess that’s pretty close to the ‘major’ part of our date, other than making out at the top of the space needle” She smiles, walking up the path.

 

“I’m going to say if Ella was a part of this, she’d ask to be at a bar, let’s be real.” Shayna laughs.

 

“Knowing Oliver, he’d probably have Ella at a bar also…” Faith chuckles. “Let’s go check there first...”

 

Faith and Shayna walk along through the the farmer’s market and the mix of people, scanning the crowd for Ella. They finally manage to make it to Kells Pub, pushing the door open. Ella is standing at the bar, three shot glasses lined up next to her. She looks up seeing the girls, throwing her hands in the air with a scream.

 

“Oh, Jesus…” Shayna shakes her head with a smirk as they approach the bar.

 

“Hiiiiiiiii!!” Faith threw her arms around Ella giving her a hug. “Oh god, shots.” She chuckles, “What are we shooting.”

 

“Hello? Are you even asking?” Ella shakes her head with a disgusted look on her face. “Patron.”

 

“Line them up!” Shayna calls out, grabbing the salt, shaking it on her hand and passing it to Faith.

 

Faith shook her head, “I can’t, I’ll puke...”

 

“Are you serious?” Shayna scoffs. “Alright Ella, your call on this one.” she holds up her glass in one hand, lime in the other.

 

“IM A LITTLE STRESSED OUT, SHAYNA!” Faith smirks, “Sorry I’m a loser...”

 

Ella holds up her glass to the girls “Ok, Bitches….I don’t know what the hell we’re doing...but...we’re going to do it right!! Let’s just have fun because that cute little nugget of a boyfriend of yours is paying! CHEERS!!”

 

Faith laughs out loud at Ella’s toast. “Well… remind me to thank my nugget later on...CHEERS!”

 

Ella slams her glass down, “Good shit, ladies…” She shook her head as the tequila burned through her. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She reaches into her purse pulling out another pink box.

 

Faith grins making grabby hands “Gimme!!” She snatches it from Ella’s hand, tearing it open. Looking at the newest puzzle piece she can make out her head resting on Oliver’s bare shoulder, instantly bringing her back to their moment in the kitchen. “Oh….my god..” a smile spreading across her face. “How the hell…” She shook her head pulling out the other pieces.

 

“What is it?” Shayna asks looking over Faith’s shoulder.

 

“Thanksgiving...I woke up and Ollie was in the kitchen making pancakes, and I went downstairs, and he had his iphone playing, and one of my favorite songs came on, and he asked me to dance with him,” Faith’s eyes light up, her features soft, her lips curled up into a smile. “I have no idea how he took this picture...but this is when we were dancing.”

 

Ella shook her head “He’s probably got cameras everywhere...Coming soon: Faith Porn.”

 

“SHUT UP” Faith giggles swatting at her.

 

“Come onnnn… read the clue!” Shayna bounces impatiently. “There’s a stripper pole on the bus that this one is gonna hang off of shortly,” she nods in Ella’s direction.

 

"She's too busy thinking about making porn now..." Ella pulls the card out of the envelope, skimming over the text with a smirk.

 

**_The three musketeers, reunited again. Yes, I left Ella alone in the bar. Hopefully that wasn’t a bad idea… :)_ **

**_I wish I was there to bring you flowers, but I will bring some with me later. Your next clue is waiting where we saw fireworks. Literally AND Figuratively._ **

**_I love you. xO_ **

 

“Fireworks?” Shayna purses her lips. “I mean, they happen all over the place in this city…”

 

“Wait - very important….can I be the hot Musketeer?” Ella pipes in.

 

“ELLA” Faith laughs “Shut up!”

 

“Just asking…” Ella shrugs.

 

“Fireworks...It’s the Space Needle….We went there after we came here. There was something happening down at the Wharf and they set off fireworks...that’s when he first kissed me.” Faith gushes. “He’s going through every step of our relationship…”

 

“That is so freaking creative…. major points Oliver… wherever you are.” Shayna laughs looking around with narrow eyes. “There’s probably a camera somewhere. Ok, off to the bus?”

 

“YES!” The girls say in unison. Faith hops up from her stool, grabbing her newest clue, turning towards the door.

 

The three stroll down towards the bus, snapping random pictures along the way. Faith pulls out her phone, texting Oliver.

 

**Faith (12:14pm):** _I don’t know what you’re up to, but this is amazing. <3_

 

Faith tucks her phone back in her clutch, “To the Space Needle, Max!” She hops in the bus, heading towards the back.

 

Ella steps on the bus, “Oliver Fuckin’ Moreno….This is SICCCCCCK!!” She twirls around the pole, “This is going to get ridiculous in here…” She grabs Faith’s flute of Champagne downing it in one swig.

 

Faith laughs, “God help us all…”

 

Shayna holds up her phone snapping a few pictures. “Just gonna send these to Gavin….” she types away laughing to herself.

 

Faith checks her phone several times pouting that Oliver hasn’t replied. “Where is he..”

 

“I’m going to go with, he’s not going to answer. Why would he? This is more fun.” Shayna smiles looking up from her phone. “You look at it again and I’m taking it away. No, you know what….” she holds out her hand. “Gimme…. now.”

 

Faith sighs, “I won't look at it again…”

 

“Give it to me Faith.” Shayna wiggles her fingers at her holding her palm out.

 

Faith hands over her phone with a huff. “Party pooper!”

 

Ella giggles, “I wonder what will happen next!”

 

“You know...don’t you…” Faith points, eyeing her. She turns to Shayna, “Shayna….” she raises her eyebrows with a warning tone.

 

“I told you, I don’t know what this is about other than it being a girls day and you getting clues,” Shayna shrugs completely unemotional. “No idea…”

 

Faith squints her eyes at her, “I don’t know that I’m buying that...buttttt…..” She hops up as the bus comes to a stop “Let’s go find more friends and clues! I cant wait to see this picture.”

 

The girls quickly hop off of the bus, making their way to the Space Needle. As they approach the window to purchase tickets, a man intercepts them with a smile, “Ms. McCallium?”

 

Faith eyes him carefully, wondering how he knew her name. “...maybe?”

 

“Follow me, Mr. Moreno told us you’d be coming,” The gentleman smiles, leading them inside.

 

“Sa-weeetttt!” Ella grins, happily following the man, “Oliver really went big today, huh?”

 

“Seriously, what next?” Shayna chuckles as they make their way towards the elevators.

 

“I fucking hate elevators…” Faith sighs.

 

“Ollie knew that, DUH!” Everly taps Faith on the shoulder from behind, with a wide grin on her face.

 

“EVIE!” Faith grins, giving her a big hug. “Oh thank god I don’t have to go back up there,” she says with a chuckle. “Once was enough!”

 

“Nope! You get to keep your feet on the ground today!” Everly smiles before producing a small pink box. “And you get presents!”

 

Faith claps excitedly before snatching the box from her hands. She tears the paper away finding another piece of the picture and another card, “god I just love him for doing this…”

 

Shayna pulls off the index card, reading Faith’s next clue.

 

_**I know your friends are around so I'll try to be tasteful ;) If you want your next clue you need to check the place where we quickly, (yet slowly) discovered that sneaking around was a way better option than not being together at all.** _

_**No friends waiting here, you really need to look around for your clue.  I left it in a very safe place…  xO** _

_**PS: Your collection has grown...we need to talk about that. ;)** _

 

Faith’s face flushes a deep shade of red as she quickly snatches the card from Shayna’s hands, stuffing it back into its envelope.

 

“Your collection?” Shayna laughs with a giant grin on her face, “tell me he did not just out you for having sex toys…”

 

“Shut up, Shayna.” Faith swats at her with a chuckle.

 

“The jackrabbit is my fav!” Ella interjects with a smirk, “go big or go home!”

 

“I'll be sure to tell Gavs!" Shayna laughs as the girls head back down towards the black bus.

 

"Oh he knows..." Ella giggles with a nod, "heeeee knows."

 

"Dear god..." Faith shakes her head with a chuckles, silently cursing Oliver for leaving that comment.

 

“If it’s any consolation, maybe Ollie added to the collection…” Everly wiggles her eyebrows while walking with Faith, “and the fact that he knew it would embarrass you, and didn’t make anyone wait there…that says something. We’re all friends, we all do it...it’s not a big deal”

 

Faith nods giving her another hug before stepping back onto the bus. “Thanks, Evie. I needed that...and Welcome to the Party Bus!”

 

“Jesus, are you serious right now?” Everly gasps looking around the small black bus. “This is like...wow!”

 

“Right? Oliver certainly knew what he was doing!” Shayna giggles, grabbing another beer from the cooler. “Off to Faith’s apartment, Max!”

 

After a short drive across town, the bus pulls up infront of Faith and Shayna’s apartment building. As per the note, Faith hops off the bus alone, heading inside. As she enters her apartment, she walks quietly into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Sliding her nightstand forward, she pulls out a small black file box from the floor behind her headboard. She quickly rolls the numbers to the correct combination, popping open the lid. As she expected, inside the box she is greeted with a small pink box.

 

_**Are you blushing? You’re so cute when your cheeks are all pink. We’ll play with some of those later, try to stay focused...for now... :)** _

_**This next one may stump you, but I promise, you'll remember eventually.  There was one distinct moment when I knew I had fallen in love with you. I should've told you, but I think you felt it too.  The stars shined a little brighter for us that night. xO** _

 

Faith locked up the file box, tucking it behind her bed before moving the nightstand back into its place. As she rose to her feet she caught a glimpse of a picture of her and Oliver on the dresser, a smile spreading across her face. She lightly ran her finger over the image before grabbing her keys. Faith quickly made her way downstairs and back out to the bus. She stops briefly at the passenger window to tell Max where to head before getting back onboard. As she stepped inside, the music was blaring and Ella was spinning around the pole, Shayna and Everly cheering her on, drinks in hand.

 

"I leave you kids alone for five minutes and all hell breaks loose..." Faith giggles sitting next to Shayna.

 

"Just getting in some exercise!" Ella grins as she loops around the metal. "What did loverboy's card say this time?"

 

"Yeah, where next!" Evie bounces in her seat.

 

Faith pulls the card out, re-reading what he wrote. "It has to be Ballast Park. Anyone remember the game right around Christmas, and he took a stick to his face? All he wanted to do was lay around and be pissy about it. But after the game I made him come over, cooked a really late dinner and then we went to Ballast Park. We wrapped ourselves up in a bunch of blankets and just talked all night....God, we were out there until the sun came up."

 

"But you 'weren't dating' before he left," Shayna makes air quotes giving her a look. "You two make me sick," she chuckles.

 

"It has to be the park. Something about just laying there talking, all bundled up together. I thought I was just being a stupid girl." Faith shook her head with a smile, "but he felt it too..."

 

"Excuse me while I puke. You guys are literally disgusting," Everly jokes causing the girls to all giggle.

 

"I can't help it. It's so strange to feel like this...he just...does things to me!" Faith sighs with a smile. "When I'm with him I just feel like I could burst!"

 

"That's called an orgasm..." Ella smirks.

 

"AYOOOOOOO!!" Shayna laughs loudly, high fiving Ella from across the bus.

 

"No problems in that category whatsoever," Faith giggles, "he's got that well under control."

 

A few minutes pass and Max pulls over at the entrance to the large park. The girls quickly pile out of the bus, walking towards the plush grassy area.

 

"God, it could be anywhere..." Faith bites her lip, scanning the park.

 

"Split up, or stay together?" Everly raises an eyebrow as she looks around.

 

"Together." Faith nods pointing at Shayna, "Sassy pants over here took my phone away and I don't want to get lost."

 

"Damn right I took it. You did that to yourself." Shayna smiles proudly, "come on, let's start walking."

 

The four girls walk around the park in search of any signs of their friends or a pink box. After about 45 minutes, Faith sits down on a bench with a frustrated huff.

 

"Maybe it's not the park?...Don't be frustrated, he could have fallen in love with you anywhere." Ella sits next to her, patting her leg gently.

 

"It has to be here. It has to be." Faith ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ears. "He said the stars shined brighter for us that night...stars...the stars.." She pursed her lips trying to think.

 

"A rooftop? A Planetarium?.." Everly made a face, "what else has stars..."

 

"A flag...the pins on a uniform..." Shayna offers. "Three stars of the game..."

 

"OH MY GOD." Faith stands quickly from the bench, nearly knocking Shayna over. "Yes...EXACTLY!" She slaps her shoulder with a grin, "You're a genius!!! Come on, we're not even close!" Faith takes off towards the parking area, leaving the other three girls behind her.

 

"What the hell just happened?" Ella looks between Shayna and Everly with a blank look on her face.  

 

"I have no idea.." Everly shrugs as she stands from the bench, "but we better go, or I have a feeling the bus will leave without us."

 

"Faith!" Shayna calls running up towards her, "Stop for a second - what is it? What happened?"

 

"The STARS, Shay! The Seattle Stars Skate...the underprivileged kids team!" Faith smiles widely as the other girls caught up with them, "That was the first event they let me run when I was interning. I was so scared to screw something up. The guys were so good with the kids, but there was this little guy who was just struggling. I don't remember exactly what happened but he was crying and was so clingy with me. So I just sat with him while he calmed down, and then I skated around with him a bit. Oliver couldn't stop staring at us...eventually he came over and we all skated together."

 

Ella laughs loudly, "he declared Baby Mama status on you that day. Makes sense," she nods, "dudes are into that."

 

"It has to be that, if it's not, I don't know what it could be."

 

"Well...we’ll find out soon, won’t we?” Shayna smiles as she hops back on the bus. “Max, back to the arena!”

 

The three other girls jump on the bus behind her, flopping down on the seats. “Can I have my phone please?” Faith pouts at Shayna, “I just want to see if he replied to me..”

 

“Nope!” Shayna grins, “girls only. No Tristan and absolutely NO Oliver.”

 

Faith slumps down in her chair.

 

“Oh come on, you don’t need him right now.” Everly smiles, pouring a glass of champagne, offering it to Faith. “Just relax, you’ll see him soon.”

 

Faith shakes her head, “I can’t, I’m still on edge about all of this..I’m so glad you guys are here though.”

 

After a few minutes of mindless chatter the girls arrive at the arena. Digging out her ID badge from her clutch, Shayna flashes the pass at the gate giving them access to the parking area. “Do you think the practice rink?” Shayna shrugs, directing Max where to park.

 

Faith nods, “I would assume so, thats where the skate was…”

 

Pushing the door of the bus open, Faith jumps out, squinting against the sun. “I hope I didn’t screw this up again…”

 

“It’ll be fine, stop worrying! This is supposed to be fun!” Ella smiles, stepping out. “Let’s go see if you’re right.”

 

Shayna swipes her badge again, giving the girls access to the door of the building. Walking inside, the sounds of skates and whistles flood the hallway as they walk down towards the practice arena. “Who the hell is here?” She looks over her shoulder at the girls, “do the boys have practice today?”

 

“I hope not...Gavin was laying in bed when I left this morning… Not that I stayed over there or anything...just saying...facetime..uhhh, I mean...I’m hungry...” Ella shrugs innocently, trying to change the subject.

 

Faith giggles, pushing through the door of the arena, a grin spreading across her face. “That little shit…”

 

The Seattle Stars kids were skating around on the ice, a handful of the Scarlet players out there with them running drills.

 

“It’s about time you guys got here!” Victoria chuckles, waving from the bleachers.

 

“HIII!!!!” Faith bounces happily, walking over to them, “This is amazing!” She looks back to the ice, “how the hell did he do this?”

 

“Well, Anders, Luca, Jiri and Logan all volunteered to help out, and then Oliver asked us to meet you guys for a girls day. We were happy to spend time with you guys!” Greta smiles, “I even have a picture for you!” She pulls out her camera, scrolling through a few pictures before turning around her camera. On the screen is a picture of Oliver with a cheezy smile, holding a piece of paper that has ‘I <3 You’ written on it.

 

“What a dick,” Shayna laughs, “he’s out of control.”

 

“Shut up,” Faith giggles, “he’s adorable.”

 

“Oh, and I have this for you too…” Victoria hands over a pink box, “I’m assuming this is important.”

 

Faith grabs the box, tearing the paper open quickly, “I hope this one is easier than the last clue…” She takes out the small puzzle piece, matching it up with the other pieces. “Ugh, I just want to see the whole picture!” Pulling the index card from the envelope, she reads over the next clue with a grin, her cheeks flushing.

 

**_Will you be my Valentine? ;) xO_ **

 

“Dare I even ask why you have that shit-eating grin on your face, miss Faith?” Ella raises her eyebrows in amusement. “What did he write this time?”

 

“He wrote Will you be my Valentine, but...it’s just a good memory…” Faith stuffs the card back in the envelope. “We uh..we need to go upstairs….to JP’s office.”

 

“JP’s office?” Everly questions. “What does that have to do with Valentine’s Day?”

 

“Because Oliver laid her out across JP’s desk…” Shayna snorts. “Before JP, of course…”

 

“It was Valentine’s Day...we were both there...it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Faith shrugs with a giggle, “follow me…”

 

Faith leads the girls to the elevator up to the executive level, walking down the hallway towards JP’s office.

 

“I hope the door’s unlocked…” Shayna makes a face, “I don’t know how we’d get in…”

 

Faith jiggles the handle, the door popping open with ease. Walking inside she sees the box sitting on his desk. Reaching out for the box, the chair spins around, Audrey sitting with her arms crossed. “Not even a knock first?” She smirks, extending her arms to Faith.

 

“Auddie!!!” Faith grins giving her a hug, “Ahhhh I’m so excited you’re here!!”

 

Audrey makes her way through the girls, giving everyone hugs. “This is so exciting!! I can’t believe Oliver put all of this together. The most creative thing Jordan has ever done was a picstitch on my birthday!”

 

“Tristan….texts me. Sometimes he uses emojis?” Shayna makes a face.  

 

“Gavs likes my tits?” Ella shrugs, “Off topic, I know,  but I felt like we were sharing.”

 

The room busts out into a fit of giggles as Faith grabs the box from the desk. She rips off the paper handing the card to Shayna. “Read this…”  Dumping the puzzle pieces out onto the desk she puts together as much as she can, still missing a few pieces of the image.  

 

Shayna pulls the card out of the envelope, reading the next clue aloud to the group.

 

**_I wish I could send you back to California to where I first told you I loved you, but that's a heck of a drive for poor Max. You'll have to make due here, Cubby. ;) xO_ **

 

“Oh it’s totally Bone Point.” Shayna continues after she reads the clue. “Come on...Cubby? It’s when we were all out with your parents. Gosh, Oliver….that was easy…”

 

“I think you’re right,” Faith nods looking around the room. “Thank you guys...you know...for doing all of this with me...You’re pretty amazing friends to sacrifice your weekend to do something nice for me...”

 

“Oh shush, we love you, Faith!” Everly smiles

 

“You deserve this fun little game, Oliver worked hard on it.” Greta nods, “We’re happy to be a part of this!”

 

“Well off to Bone Point we go!” Audrey smiles grabbing her bag from the desk. “This is exciting!”

 

The entourage makes their way back out to the parking area, Max pulling up for them.

 

“Jesus, what the hell are we the spice girls now?” Greta gapes looking at the bus, “I’ve always wanted to be in a girl band…”

 

“I’ve always wanted to be on a boyband bus!” Shayna grins, “...I mean..maybe I’ve done that before…”

 

Faith elbows her with a serious look, “what happened to never talking about that again?”

 

“WHAT?” Ella hops on the bus, “What band…”

 

“NO ONE.” Both Faith and Shayna answer in unison.

 

“What one!” Victoria chuckles, “Come on...you have to tell us now!”

 

“5th Amendment!” Faith giggles, “Let’s not discuss this anymore…Let’s just dance!” Faith pushes a button on the console, as loud music blares through the bus. The flashing lights activating as the disco ball spins. The girls get up from their seats dancing around the bus. Greta pulls out her camera taking pictures and short videos of the shenanigans taking place. After about twenty minutes, but what feels like only moments, the bus comes to a stop in front of Bone Point.

 

Sad to end the dance party, the girls file off of the bus, walking into the restaurant. The hostess smiles at the girls, “Ms. Moreno?”

 

“Oooohhhhh, she’s talking to you Ms. Moreno.” Audrey gives her a nudge with a grin.

 

“Hi...yeah, I well… kinda...I mean...Faith. It’s Faith…” Faith smiles at the hostess, unsure how to respond.

 

“I have your table ready...this way, please.” She smiles politely, leading the girls into the dining area. Set on one of the plates of the table is a pink box waiting for them.

 

“A table? Are we staying?” Shayna looks at Faith.

 

“I don’t know?” Faith grabs the box ripping the paper open, pulling out the puzzle piece. “Ughhhh damnit, Oliver. Why couldn’t he just put two pieces into that box. I just want to see the full picture!”

 

“So impatient!” Everly shakes her head, “Read the card!”

 

Faith pulls the card from the envelope, reading the message aloud.

 

**_Only one piece missing. Have you put the pieces together yet? I’ve reserved a table for you all, lunch is already taken care of, order anything you’d like. After you’re done take some time and go shop with the girls (my credit card is in your wallet), do your nails (Krista knows you're all coming), do anything you want baby, just have fun. Your last clue is waiting at the Scarlet home away from home, but make sure you're there at 6. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon with the girls because after you get your last clue, you're all mine. xO_ **

 

“I love him,” Faith grins as she flops down in the seat, “how did I get so lucky?”

 

“Do we all get new outfits?” Shayna takes the card from her as she slides on to the chair next to her reading over the note.

 

“I’m pretty sure I heard that too…” Ella nods, sitting down across from them.

 

Faith chuckles shaking her head, “I don’t want to rack up Ollie’s card TOO bad...We need to keep under control.”

 

“That’s fine, we don’t need the rest of the boys to be jealous anyway. Luca will have a fit. Bad enough this sets the bar high for the rest of them…” Greta laughs taking a sip of her water.

 

“Seriously. Jordan better buy me an Island for our anniversary…” Audrey smiles, “an island covered in diamonds.”

 

“I’m not even going to go into what Tristan should do,” Shayna puts the card on the box as she crosses her arms.

 

“Does it involve a sex-swing?” Ella raises an eyebrow. “Because if it does, we should probably spare the details….unless you’re feeling open.”

 

“Haha, no.” Shayna rolls her eyes at her. “I’ll let Gavs know though.”

 

Victoria chuckles in her seat looking down at her plate, “You guys are seriously out of control.”

 

Faith smiles, “some of us are normal, with crazy boyfriends. There’s a difference!”

 

“I feel like we should toast something...but I don’t know what!” Everly pipes in, grabbing her glass.

 

“I say to the girl of the day… To Faith, what ever this day is about, you deserve it. We love you! And so does Oliver. You’re so lucky to have him and he’s lucky to have you.” Shayna holds her glass up.

 

“Shay!” Faith grins, “I love you guys too... thank you for being here for me today... For whatever the hell this is.”

 

“Well...Whatever we’re cheers-ing...Cheers!” Greta holds up her glass happily.

 

The girls clink their water glasses together in agreement.

 

“Now, let’s eat so we can head out to shop and get our nails done!” Shanya holds her hand out examining her nails.

 

“YES! I am starving!” Faith rubs her belly, “I want one of everything!”

 

“Me too… I can’t wait to shop!” Everly nods, “I haven’t gone shopping in forever!”

 

***********

 

Max brings the bus to a stop in front of Nautical Mile, the door swinging open slowly. Faith, Shayna, Ella, Audrey, Everly, Greta and Victoria all hop off the bus pressing the glass doors to the bar open. As she walks inside, Faith is greeted by most of the Scarlet roster standing at the bar. She stops abruptly, causing Shayna to plow into her from behind.

 

“OK, What the hell is going on you guys?” Faith scrunches her nose, looking over at the crowd of men, then back to Shayna, “Something is officially going on.”

 

Shayna smirks, rolling her eyes. “Oh shut up, Faith! You’re always over thinking things! Maybe Oll’s just wanted us all to grab a drink together? I mean, after all, my boyfriend is over there…and Evie’s, and El’s…an-“

 

“Yeah yeah, I get it.” Faith shakes her head, waving her hand to cut her off. “Everyone is here….except Oliver. Where is he?”  She looks back over towards the guys.

 

“Maybe he needed to pee?” Ella shrugs, “I need to pee, but ya know, I’m standing here in the doorway waiting for you to move your ass.”

 

Faith steps to the side, letting the rest of the girls into the bar. “Go ahead guys, I just… I need a minute.” She nods to them, as they make their way over to the boys. Faith grabs Shayna’s hand keeping her at the entry with her. “Shayna, why do I have a bad feeling about all of this?” She mumbles, biting at one of her freshly painted nails. “Like, that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

 

“A bad feeling?” Shayna slaps her hand, pulling it away from her face. “Stop that, you'll ruin your manicure. Why are you freaking out all of the sudden? We just had the most ridiculously adorable day EVER. I mean, Oliver’s not even my boyfriend, and I’m in love with him after today!” Shayna smiles at her. “He worked so hard to make today perfect for you. He said this was your last stop, right? He’s gotta be here somewhere. Just relax.” Shayna rubs her back encouragingly, “Now, that being said, we’re going to go over to that bar, and we’re going to wait for him… And we’re doing it now, because if Deni doesn’t stop eye fucking me in the next 10 seconds, he’s getting chained to the bed tonight. Look at those fucking pants, Faith!” Shayna bit her lip letting out a whiney moan. "His ass is calling me."

 

Faith giggles shaking her head, “Finnnnnnne… come on.” She walks across the floor over to the bar, greeting the crowd of Scarlet players, everyone exchanging hellos, hugs and kisses.

 

“I think this is for you?” Tristan smiles, handing Faith one more small pink box.

 

Faith grins snatching the box from him, ripping the paper open. Inside was the last piece of the puzzle. She pulls the note card off the back, handing it to Gavin. “Hold this!” She turns to her side, shoving all of the beer bottles and glasses sitting on the bar down. Pulling out the other clues she quickly assembles the picture, placing all of the pieces in their place with a satisfied smile. Faith gently runs her finger over the image, thinking back to that morning.

 

“Faith!” Shayna calls, pulling Faith out of her bubble. “Read your last card!” She motions towards Gavin, who hands the card back to her.

 

Faith pulls the card from its envelope, scanning the note, her smile fading quickly into a frown. “I TOLD you, Shayna.” She huffed passing the card over to her. “He’s not even here..”

 

Shayna grabs the note, reading aloud.  

 

**_“You've found your last clue, congratulations! I figured it was only fair that you left the girls with some company. You'll be tackling this last part yourself. You've certainly had a busy day, Miss McCallium but you've got one more stop to make.”_ **

 

“Faith...Ollie wanted me to tell you he loves you, you look beautiful, and to give you this.” Tristan nods at Zach behind the bar, who produces a bouquet of Gerbera Daisies, the same flowers Oliver gave her on their first date at the market.

 

A smile creeps across Faith’s face again as she sees the flowers. She reaches out to Zach, pulling the bouquet to her face, breathing them in. “Happy, Sad, Happy, Sad….I can’t take much more of this…”

 

“We’ll be right back.” Gavin kisses Ella’s cheek with a smile. He takes the bouquet of flowers from Faith’s hands handing it to Shayna.  “Come with me,” Gavin grabs Faith’s hand, walking with her towards the back patio.

 

Faith walks with him through the sliding doors out by the Fire Pit. “Gavs? What are we doing?”

 

Gavin stops, putting his hands on her shoulders, turning her so she’s facing the marina.

 

“Faith, before you say anything can you just…. please do me a favor?”

 

“Ok?” Faith raises an eyebrow at him.

 

“Don’t say anything and don’t move.” Gavin reaches inside his back pocket with a smile, pulling out two envelopes, similar to the ones her clues were in earlier, only these envelopes were red. “Ollie… He wanted to give these to you himself but, he thought maybe it was better that you read them alone.” Gavin hands the small cards to her. “He told me to ask you to wait a minute before you open them...so you can have some privacy.” He kisses her cheek, “We’ll all be inside if you need us.” He steps around her, walking back towards the doors to the bar.

 

Faith looks down at her hands, which were noticeably shaking, holding the two little cards marked ‘#1’ & ‘#2’. Her heart was racing. She looks up across the marina, the lights of the buildings beginning to shine brightly against the darkening sky, her mind going at a mile a minute. Where was Oliver? Why had he been ignoring her all day? Why didn’t he give her the cards? What did they even say?  Faith carefully opened the red envelope marked with the #1, sliding the white card out from inside.

 

**_Hi beautiful,_ **

**_I hope you had an amazing time with your friends. You deserve all of the happiness in the world._ **

**_I wish I could have seen your face as you ran around town, reliving all of our milestones, but knowing you, I’m sure you girls took plenty of pictures and I’ll hear all about it._ **

**_I_ ** **_t’s hard for me to put into words how much you mean to me. You're the last thing I see when I go to sleep at night, and the only reason I wake up in the morning. You're the love of my life, Faith. I hope you realize how important you are to me. I don't want to spend another second away from you._ **

**_If you want me, come find me._ **

****

Faith couldn’t help but smile as she slid the card back into the envelope. She didn’t know why she always got so upset over things. Oliver always went above and beyond for her, she should have known by now that he always comes through. She opens the second envelope, removing the card from inside.

 

**_So, where am I? I’m waiting for you at the spot where I asked you to marry me._ **

**_Hint: Turn around._ **

 

Faith’s eyes grow wide as her heart skips a beat. Her fingers grip the sides of the card a little tighter as she re-reads the words over a few times.  She takes a shaky breath as she places the card back in the red envelope, slowly turning back towards the building. Standing there, between her and the glass doors... Oliver.

 

“Hi,” Oliver speaks softly, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black pants, his eyes fixated on her. “You look beautiful,” he walks towards her, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, “but you always look beautiful.”

 

Faith watches him anxiously, eyeing his movements. Over his shoulder she spies all of their friends pressed against the glass doors, watching them intently. They all knew. Everyone knew. Everyone...except her.

 

“They helped me.” Oliver smiles, stopping inches away from her, reaching out to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Especially Shayna.”

 

Faith brings her focus back to Oliver, a smile spreading across her face. “You did all of this. The dress, the puzzle, the clues, the car, our friends...everything…” She lifts her arms, placing her hands on each of his cheeks. “I can’t believe you did all this for me?”

 

“This is only the beginning,” Oliver presses a kiss against her lips. “Our beginning.”

 

“You’re really gonna do this, aren’t you?” Faith bit her bottom lip with a smile.

 

“Only if its what you want,” he rubs his hands over her shoulders. “If you want me to wait, I’ll wait until you’re ready… if you want the audience to disappear, I’ll make it happen. But you’re what I want, Faith. This...US, is what I want.”

 

“You’re what I want, Oliver. I loved every second about today, but I don’t need the bells and whistles, the flowers and gifts. You don’t have to wine and dine me. I just want you.”

 

Oliver nods, “I know you don’t need them. But I wanted you to have them… actually…” He takes a small step forwards, reaching into his pocket, pulling out the small ring box. “Theres something else I want you to have too...” Oliver pauses, taking a deep breath before dropping slowly down onto one knee, taking Faith’s left hand into his.

 

Faith shakes her head with a smile, her eyes brimming with fresh warm tears, laughing a little to herself. “Of course I’m crying!”

 

“Cry as much as you want, as long as they’re happy tears.” Oliver chuckles snapping the lid of the box open, offering the ring to her. “Faith Michaela McCallium...”

 

Faith’s mouth gapes open, her breath catching in her throat as she stares at the ring sparkling in the box in front of her. “Oliver Scott…” She whispers, exhaling sharply.  Never in her life has she seen such a beautiful symbol of love and affection. She pulls her eyes away from the little blue box, focusing on Oliver.

 

“Will you marry me?” Oliver gazes up into her eyes, a smile pressed to his lips.

 

“Yes,” Faith nods, a big grin spreading across her face, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

 

Oliver gently lets go of her hand, pulling the ring from it’s snug home inside the box. Re-taking her hand, he slowly slides the ring up her finger until it rests perfectly under her top knuckle. He leans forward bringing her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the top of her hand, over the ring.

 

Their friends can easily be heard cheering and smacking the glass doors with excitement. Faith shakes her head with a laugh, glancing quickly back at everyone inside the building staring out the windows at them, “I think they’re waiting for a show…”

 

“Mmm, you want to give them a show?” Oliver smirks, looking up at her.

 

“Hell yeah!” Faith grins with a nod.

 

Standing from his kneeling position, he quickly pulls Faith to him, sliding his arms snugly around her, lifting her off the ground. “I love you, Faithy.”

 

Faith wraps her legs around him, locking her ankles behind his waist, cupping his face. “I love you more.” She grins leaning forwards devouring his mouth with her own, giggling against his lips.

 

“I can’t even be serious right now,” Oliver laughs setting her down on the ground gingerly.

 

Faith wraps her arms around his shoulders burying her face in his neck, breathing him in. “I still can’t believe you did all this for me.” She chuckles with a smile, “and leave it to me to just be a big ole’ hot mess”.

 

Oliver smiles, cupping her face, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” He slowly runs his thumbs over her cheeks, pressing a quick kiss against her lips, nipping playfully at her bottom lip as he pulls back. “All this while wearing my favorite lipgloss.”

 

Faith nods with a smirk, “I figured with what I have on under this dress, the lipgloss would just be the icing on the cake for you.”

 

Oliver chuckles, pressing his forehead to hers. “Reason 7,928 why marrying you is the best decision ever. You’re always thinking of others...”

 

“I’m very...very considerate of other peoples’ needs” She wiggles her eyebrows at him.

 

“I love you, Faith.”

 

“I love you too, Ollie.”

  
  



	21. I can see you're not yourself...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just keeping up with the plot twists. Faith has been ill lately and out of sorts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Olly Murs "Heart Skips A Beat". No real reason, just that I've been listening to him a lot. 
> 
> This chapter is also the infamous "jelly" conversation. How many times can one conversation have the word JELLY in it? Our friends will understand why this was so important. This is almost like that scene in Super Troopers where they say MEOW... lmfao
> 
> Don't forget, kudos and comments are always appreciated! We are sorting out the next few chapters as well! Keep an eye out for more!

“You look a little pale today, you sure you’re ok?” Shayna looks over at Faith as they walk across the Player parking lot to the corner. “We don’t have to go out for lunch, we could just order in.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll be okay.” Faith smiles looking over at Shayna, “I'm  just battling some stomach bug or something. I didn’t really rest this weekend either, so that doesn’t help. Regardless, I’ve still gotta eat something, I’m starving!”

“Didn’t get much sleep?” Shayna grins looking at her before they cross the street, giving her a slight nudge. “Oh, oh wait, you mean because you were sick. My bad.”

Faith chuckles shaking her head, “Well, I guess we were half celebrating and yeah, half because I was sick.” She points towards the stores down the block, “Deli? or Pizza?”

“Deli. I went to Marco, my trainer you remember, this weekend since the gym called me to remind me that I have those sessions left for the year. I’ll be on salad for a bit,” Shayna pouts. “Unless you really want pizza, I can be swayed.”

“Oh no, I was hoping you’d say the deli, I think the grease of the pizza…” she makes a face, “not a good idea. Besides, I really want one of their salad wraps!” She rubs her belly with a smile, “I haven’t eaten much this weekend, so, the belly is saying Feed Me!”

“Good. I tried to tell him that Tristan keeps me active, but that didn’t work,” Shayna rolls her eyes. “Tristan was actually kind of excited saying that my stamina should be up and insisted I do extra cardio.”

“Oliver has repeatedly told me that I should start running again. ‘You’ll get that runners high!’ Blah blah blah,” Faith rolls her eyes mocking his tone, “yeah, I’ll just run my jiggly ass right to the fridge, thank you!” She grabs the door to the deli, pulling it open, “after you!”

“Thank you lovely. And of course a line, as usual. I’m feeling grilled chicken and mozzarella,” Shayna steps on the line looking up at the big chalkboard hanging over the counter.

“I kinda want the ceasar wrap, butttttttt I kinda want their new harvest wrap with the cranberries and the walnuts,” Faith bites her lip looking around the small restaurant, “oh...that looks good too.” She nods over at a lady sitting with a tossed salad with grilled chicken on top. “I don’t know what I want!”

“Starving is an understatement isn’t it? Just looking to eat everything…” Shayna snorts looking back at Faith.

Faith chuckles, “it’s not my fault my stupid stomach wanted to puke up everything I ate this weekend! It’s sorry now, and wants food!” She cocks her head to the side staring intensely at the chalkboard. “Harvest Wrap. Final Answer.”

“We have a winner!” Shayna claps stepping up to the order area giving her order to the girl behind the counter. “I’ll grab a table.”

Faith nods following suit as she smiles at the girl behind the register. After a few minutes Faith grabs both her and Shayna’s trays before walking over to the table Shayna had secured. “They were fast today, thank god!” Faith places the trays down on the table before sitting across from her.

“Good, I’m starving,” Shayna pulls her tray to her taking a sip of her iced tea.

“So, what did you and Deni do yesterday? Sorry I didn’t call. We were busy.” Faith pulls the wrap from the plate, taking a huge bite.

Shayna takes a bite of her sandwich, quickly wiping her mouth. “We took a walk around Pike Place Market. It was quite nice,” she smiles.

“Good! I like seeing you two go out and do things, you know? It’s good for you two to spend time out together in public. I think Tristan is really opening up from his shell,” Faith smiles, grabbing a napkin to wipe her fingers, “this thing is a mess, but so delicious.”

“He really is ridiculous,” Shayna laughs grabbing her phone from the table clicking away, holding it up to show Faith. “Look at this face!” She shows her a picture of Tristan with sunglasses on making a face at the camera.  “I can’t handle how adorable he is.”

Faith giggles taking the phone from her hands, “Seriously, Tristan? What the hell is that face?” She passes the phone back to Shayna, her smile slowly fading from her face.

“Faith?” Shayna looks up taking her phone from her with a worried look watching her.

Faith reaches for her bottle of water, taking a small sip, letting out a soft breath. “Not good…”

“You just inhaled that bit of wrap into an empty stomach, of course you don’t feel good. Take your time,” Shayna frowns. “Do you wanna wrap this all up and we can head back?”

“Too late…” Faith shook her head, pushing her chair back from the table, quickly walking towards the back of the deli towards the restroom. A few minutes pass before Faith returns to the table, the color drained from her face. “Sorry about that, Shay.”

“Are you ok? We should head back to the office,” Shayna looks Faith over.

Faith nods as she sits back down, taking another small sip of water from the bottle, “I’m okay I think. I just wish I knew what the hell was making me feel so sick. I did eat pretty fast…” She shrugs with a sigh, pushing her plate back, “get away from me, demon sandwich.”

“You know, for someone with a stomach bug, you don’t look clammy or with a fever,” Shayna narrows her eyes at her. “I mean I wouldn’t have even came to work today if I felt like that.”

“I don’t think I have a fever?” Faith puts her hand on her forehead and then on her cheek, “I don’t really feel bad, I just can’t keep anything down.” She sips some more water shaking her head, “it’s annoying as fuck though. I’m tired of being nauseous.”

Shayna stands from her chair taking her tray to the counter to have her sandwich wrapped. “Tristan will eat this no doubt,” she laughs handing it over to the man behind the counter. “Hey, you know what? Maybe you’re pregnant! All that celebratory activity,” Shayna giggles nudging Faith.

“HA!” Faith laughs, slapping her arm. “Shame on you, that’s so not even funny. Plus, I’ve been on the pill forever.”

“Who knows? Maybe Olls is just that good,” Shayna laughs taking the bag of leftover food.  

“I mean, I’ll be honest, the man has serious bedroom skills.” Faith wiggles her eyebrows with a grin, “but, the last thing we need right now is a baby. Plus, seriously, could you imagine? Oh sorry JP, I can’t come to work today…Yeah RIGHT.”

“You would win the bet though,” Shayna smirks as they walk out of the deli back across the street. “We always said you would be first to have a kid. Maybe we should amend that though. I mean Deni and I… I’m surprised it’s not me yet.”

“That’s one bet I do not need to win! I would be happy to make that amendment” Faith shook her head with a chuckle, taking a breath in the fresh air. “It’s so nice out here, thank god for this cool air. I wish I could open my office windows, it’s so stuffy in there!”

A horn sounds as the girls cross the street back to the arena.

“God, cross in the crosswalk much?” Tristan smirks from the driver seat of his truck, the window down as he leans out looking at them.

“Christ, Deni! Lay off the horn will you?” Faith jumps giving him a look, “What the hell!”

Tristan pulls into the players’ parking lot quickly shutting the truck off and hopping out.

“Good job driving like a psychopath,” Shayna grins as they walk into the lot.

“What were you two talking about? Seemed deep in conversation. You ok Faith? You don’t look so good,” Tristan looks at her with a frown.

“Just you know girl things,” Shayna holds her arms out to him.

Faith nods with a small smile, “I’ll be fine, Deni, but thank you. Just not feeling so good today.”

“I hope you feel better,” Tristan gives her a small smile as he hugs Shayna.

“Thanks,” She nods at him, patting Shayna’s back, “I’m going to head back upstairs, I’m tired and want to sit down for a bit. Plus I’ve got tons of work to do. I’ll let you two have a few minutes.” She smiles at both of them, “I’ll see you guys later?”

“I’m coming! I saw him this morning,” Shayna laughs as she steps back from Tristan. “See you after practice?”

Tristan nods, “I’ll come up and say hi.”

Shayna turns following Faith into the VIP door to the elevators.

“I can’t wait until Christmas, we finally get a few days off. I just have to make it through Toronto.” Faith sighs, swiping her badge to access the elevator bank.

“Oh Jesus, Toronto,” Shayna sighs looking down at her shoes. “Just great.”

“I know, we’ve got a home and home too…” She shakes her head, pressing the button for the office level, “should be an interesting week as long as the dickbag stays in his cave.”

“Maybe I can catch a break. I just hope to god Jonathan doesn’t show his face, especially after last time he was here. He was such an asshole,” Shayna sighs stepping back leaning against the wall of the elevator.

“It would take some real balls for him to show up expecting anyone to give him the time of day,” Faith makes a face, “on a positive note, if he does, Tristan can beat him up!”

Shayna takes a deep breath, “He better not show up. I warned him in the summer. I’m over it.” She steps out of the elevator. “I’m not even going to think about it anymore and make myself upset. Oh look there’s Olls!”

Faith smiles, following Shayna out of the elevator, “Hey handsome, what are you doing up here?”

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you two, but no one knew where you were,” Oliver kisses Faith’s cheek, “were you two out causing trouble?”

“Oh yeah, causing sandwich trouble,” Shayna laughs shaking the bag of leftovers.

Faith’s face drops slowly, “Ugh not again.” She pushes between the two of them running down the hallway and around the corner towards the restroom.

“Well...I guess that answers my question.” Oliver frowns watching her down the hall.

“She’s pretty sick,” Shayna winces watching Faith storm into the bathroom. “I guess I’ll check on her. I’ll keep you updated. She should really just go home and sleep.”

“I tried to get her to stay home, but she would have none of it.” Oliver leans against the wall with a sigh, “she won’t take anything for it. She keeps telling me she feels fine, but then just pukes all freaking day. That doesn’t seem ‘fine’ to me.”

“She’s always been like this. Just refusing to rest herself. I’ll look in after her. Come up later,” Shayna turns walking down the hall towards the bathroom.

“Thanks, Shay!” Oliver calls after her.

****  
  


******

“CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW ITS POSSIBLE WE HAVE NO VOUCHERS? THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE.” Faith yells into her cell phone, her face bright red.

Shayna raises her eyebrows trying not to make eye contact with Faith. “I’m pretty sure there wasn’t enough printed, or if there was, they’re floating somewhere. I’ll call over at the other doors.”

“Our arena seats 22,514 people. We are NOT a sell-out tonight. There were 19,000 vouchers printed. You can’t tell me we are out of vouchers, unless people are getting more than one...or people are stealing them.” Faith huffs, shaking her head at Shayna. “Let me know,” she hangs up her phone throwing it on the table. “I hate everyone. EVERYONE.”

“Um, yeah. Are you ok? You’ve been on edge all week, it’s scaring me.” Shayna coughs, looking across the table. “In case you forgot, it’s me over here not an intern.”

“I’m fine. I’m just tired and hungry and I still feel like shit. I just want to go home” Faith grumbles. “I’m sorry, it’s not you,” she pouts.

“I can finish this up and make sure we find everything if you wanna just go upstairs to the suite. I’ve got this. Don’t worry. I’ll be up in a bit. Just… calm down?” Shayna takes a sip of her water bottle, placing the cap back on it.

Faith shakes her head, “No no, I’m fine. I’m just...” she shrugs shutting down her laptop. “I’m fine. Let’s just finish this crap up and go watch the game.”

“Something’s not right. I don’t like this.” Shayna looks at Faith with narrow eyes. “Whatever it is… you better tell me. It’s ok if it’s not now, but.. Whatever you wanna do.”

Faith nods staring down at her desk, “did we find the other vouchers yet?” she sighs softly.

“I’m texting an intern now. I’ll just go look,“ Shayna shakes her head walking out of the office.

“Shayna…” Faith calls after her.

Shayna turns around, phone in her hands typing quickly, not looking up. “Yes?”

“Stupid question but this stays between us, ok?” Faith leans back in her chair, picking at her nails.

“Yes, if what you’re implying means I’m gonna turn around and run to Tristan, then yes,” Shayna sends the text she was typing, putting her phone in her skirt pocket.

“No, it means you’re not going to tell anyone. ESPECIALLY not Tristan.” Faith says sternly.

“Something definitely is going on if you’re saying this to me of all people,” Shayna walks back into the office shutting the door behind her, taking the seat back in front of Faith. “Continue.”

“I...um…” Faith nods slowly. “I...well…” she shakes her head. “FUCK.” She slams her hands down on the desk, frustrated.

“Faith,” Shayna looks at her with concern. “What’s the matter?”

“I can’t tell you Shay…” Faith whispers biting her bottom lip. Pulling open her desk drawer, she pulls out a pregnancy test she took earlier in the day, the indicator reading Pregnant.

Shayna leans over the desk, eyes wide as she looks between the plastic on the desk and Faith. “YOU….. OLIVER…..” she barely breathes, “YOU’RE… YOU’RE?! OH MY GOD…” her hands going to her mouth. “Wait… are you… you're not happy? Did you tell him? WAIT! I KNEW IT! I FUCKING KNEW IT! I called it Monday when you didn’t feel well. You waited til now to say something to me?”

“I wanted to be sure. And NO. He doesn’t know… no one knows...no one is going to know.” Faith quickly puts the small stick back in her desk, closing the drawer. “I don’t know how I feel. I’m… I’m just...Overwhelmed.” She looks up, her eyes pooling with tears.

“No one is going to know?” Shayna frowns with concern.

“Well I mean not yet…”

Shanya gets up from her chair, rounding the corner of the desk her arms out for Faith. “How ever you want to handle this… we got this,” she hugs her tightly.

“I can’t stop throwing up...” Faith cries against her shoulder. “And I don't feel good all the time. It’s disgusting.”

“Other than that test, did you make an appointment to be checked out? Sometimes they’re not accurate, before you get all upset and worked up,” Shayna grabs a tissue handing it to Faith.

Faith takes the tissue with a nod, dabbing at her eyes. “I have 9 more positive tests at home. And yeah, I had bloodwork done at Dr. Parkers office last week. Missing one period is like a vacation from hell week. Missing two...that scared me. That’s why I didn’t drink with you guys on the bus, I was waiting for my results.” She takes a deep breath wiping across her cheeks.

“Jesus, nine? Really? Alright, ok. Well….” Shayna nods. “So then we wait for bloodwork and a proper appointment. Are you going to talk to Oliver? How long has it been?”

“Yes, nine, every brand the store had.” Faith sighs as she pulls a sheet of paper out from under her calendar on the desk, the ‘yes’ next to the hCG level highlighted in yellow. “This came back this morning. I have an appointment for right after new years and I haven't had my period since before Halloween.”

“I can go with you if you want me to. Just let me know,” Shayna takes the paper from Faith’s hand, looking over it. “Are you going to tell him?”

“Well I can’t very well hide it from him for much longer. I have to tell him, I just….I don’t know how yet. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited and I’m happy,” Faith starts crying again, “but we’re not ready for this right now. We haven’t even been engaged a week!”

There's a loud knock at the door, followed by one of the interns popping in the door, “Ms. McCallium I have the Vouc-.....Oh...I’m...I’m sorry.”

Faith shook her head wiping at her eyes, “It’s ok Emily.” She forces a smile. “I’m just glad you found them. Please take them to the south tower?”

Emily nods, “Ok...Sorry...Sorry!” She shuts the door quickly.

Faith sighs running a hand through her hair,“We should get downstairs, big game tonight”

Shayna hugs Faith one more time before standing up from the desk. “This is going to be ok… We’re gonna make it through it. It’s going to be fine ok? Let’s go see the boys!”

Faith nods standing from her desk, giving herself a quick once-over. “Please don’t tell Ollie, Shay. I’ll tell him. I just don’t know how yet.” She grabs her bag from the top drawer. “Come on, let’s go pretend none of this ever happened…”

Shayna nods, “I would never without your consent. And duh, this is your business. I’ll just be here for you.” She holds her hand out as she opens the door. “Game time!”

“It’s your business too, Shayna. You’ve had claim on Aunt/Godmother status since we were like 15…” Faith smiles a little for the first time all afternoon as she walks out of the office. “But thank you. It feels good that it’s not all pent up inside anymore. It’s been killing me...literally.” She shakes her head, “Almost 2 months.”

“I’m happy you got it out. And damn right I’m Aunt and Godmother!” Shayna grins as she presses the elevator button.

Faith hops into the elevator car pressing the button for the main concourse instead of the suites. “I’m starving, sorry...”

“Mmm, food sounds good. Actually, if we’re going this way, I want funnel cake. Fuck it, gotta blend in,” Shayna smiles.

“Oh god Funnel Cake, ” Faith’s eyes light up. “That’s right next to the Pizza place!”

“This is what I have to look forward to for the next 7 months? I better double up on the trainer sessions now. I’ll be sympathy eating next to you” Shanya giggles.

Faith shoves her “Shut up, its not my fault that Funnel cake is delicious and it’s not my fault that the spawn likes pizza…” she fake pouts, walking across the concourse.

“Don’t you be mean to my godchild, ” Shayna steps up to the line for the concession.  

“I’m not being mean. I can’t say ‘he’ or ‘she’ and ‘it’ is rude...and I was going to call it bubbles, but then everyone would think I had gas all the time.” Faith pouts. “I like spawn….spawney…”

“Even better a Powerpuff girl.”

“Oh yeah! OH BUT WHAT IF IT IS A GIRL” Faith’s eyes light up.

Shayna turns to Faith with a huge smile. “OH MY GOD, No! Don’t even get me started. Glitter and sparkle everything!”

“But I mean, don’t get too excited. She could, he could, DAMNIT! IT could be a boy too…” Faith grins, “Oh god, a tiny Ollie, my heart just threw up.”

“Teaching him how to skate and play hockey! I can’t. The feels, make it stop!”

Faith giggles ordering her food. “Hi Tammy! I need a Funnel Cake, a slice of Pepperoni Pizza annnnnnnnnd a large Root Beer.”

“Jesus that’s alot of food! and Root beer? This is for real,” Shayna looks at Faith with a smirk.

She nods, “I’m terrified but oddly it doesn’t taste bad, ” Faith gives her card to Tammy at the register. “I can’t eat the stuff I normally eat, but the crap I never have, surprisingly stays down? I’m going to be so fat. So SO fat.”

“Our boyfriends are in sports. Training comes easy to them. It’ll be fine.” Shayna shrugs.

“Yeah ok so Deni and Oll’s will be skinny. I’ll just be fat, and covered in vomit, and baby snot.” Faith made a face. “Thank god I give good head or Ollie would be gone in a heartbeat.”

“You’re going to be a hot WAG, get over it. It’ll be fine, honest. YES, please, Funnel cake, can I get extra sugar on the side,  large cola and fuck it, a set of fried oreos.” Shayna turns to Faith, “Your fault and you Bubbles.”

Faith giggles, licking her fingers full of powdered sugar. “Shut up, don’t you dare blame sweet, innocent little bubbles and just for that, Bubbles wants one of your oreos.”

“It’s a good thing it’s late, if anyone saw us eating like this! It would be interesting,” Shanya takes her food box and soda off the countertop heading in the direction of the elevators.

“Every time someone asks me I just tell them I have my period. The questions always stop.” Faith shrugs, her lips covered in white powder.

“True, very true,” Shayna nods in agreement stepping into the elevator.

“Shay?” Faith wipes at her mouth, rubbing her fingers together to get rid of the powder. “What do you think Ollie’s gonna say…” she makes a face. “It makes me nervous….”

“I think he’s going to be overjoyed. You’re his everything and this kind of bond is just going to amplify that. He’ll honestly be excited…. or I’ll kill him.” Shayna smiles popping a piece of funnel cake in her mouth.

“I don’t know who I’m more worried about him or my parents or his parents. Because OH HEY, Nice to meet you, I’m Faith, and this is Bubbles!” She waves her hand infront of her belly. "I’ve never even met them Shay.”

“Are you going to soon? Before you even start to….” Shayna waves her hand. “Show?”

“We haven’t really talked about it much. We talked about doing something for Christmas but it never panned out. There’s so many of them it would be too hard to organize everyone’s schedules…” Faith shrugs sadly. “I’d like to meet them.”

“You’re closer than me. I’ve seen some pictures of Deni’s family,” Shayna shrugs putting her food down on the small table in the suite. “He doesn’t know what to do for Christmas because he usually goes home but he doesn’t want to take me away from my family and you and such.”

“Shay, you spend every holiday with Pat and Annie. You should go to Montreal! That would be so much fun! I’m really excited to go to Montreal in the spring, FINALLY an away game there!” Faith smiles sitting down in her usual chair. “If I can even fit on the plane at that point.” She stuffs the pizza in her face.

“Do you think I would honestly turn down going to Montreal at Christmas? I said don’t worry about it, my family won’t miss me. You would pack my bags and put me on a plane. He said he values the family thing. I don’t know? We haven’t talked about it again yet to sort out plans,” Shayna sighs sitting across from Faith. “We have to talk about it.”

Faith shook her head, chewing an obnoxiously large mouthful of Pizza. “Deni needs to just suck it up. You’re going to Montreal. Bubbles says so and Bubbles gets, what Bubbles wants.”

“Bubbles is pushy already. I like it. Bubbles tell Uncle Deni he needs to stop being mean to Aunt Shayna!” Shayna looks up from the table “Uncle Deni…. oooooh.”

Faith giggles, “Ohhhhh Deni with a baby.” She steals an oreo off of Shayna’s plate, stuffing it in her mouth. “Maybe he can sing to bubs,” she smirks.

“For the love of Jesus, with a baby? Cooing at a baby? Holding a--  I can’t right now.” Shayna drops the oreo she was eating on the plate.

“Quick! Go make a baby!!” Faith claps excitedly.

“They can be best friends like their mommies!” Shayna grins. “Wait, whoa. Need to calm down a second. Let’s not get crazy.”

“But whatever I have, you can have the opposite and they can get married! And we can be neighbors, even after our super hot husbands are washed up old hockey players that can't get a job because they’re old and fat,” Faith nods excitedly. “I like this plan.”

“Tristan will not be fat, never. I’ll see to it. Keep him on his toes.” Shayna smirks.

“I’ll fatten Ollie right up…” Faith grins. “I’ll be baking cookies every week for Bubbles’ PTA meetings and shit...and driving the hockey carpool...and hosting sleepovers…” Faith’s eyes start welling with tears again. “JESUS CHRIST.” She runs the back of her hand across her face.

JP pokes his head into the conversation pointing to their meal selections. “Starting a new diet this week?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I’ve been bleeding via the vagina for 36 hours straight Jordan,” Faith glares at him.

“It happens in pairs,” Shayna narrows her eyes at him, stuffing her mouth with oreo.

“Yeah, information I don’t need to know, thanks. You know what, I’ll watch from the GM suite. Have yourself a nice night ladies. I’m staying away from the hormones.” JP bows as he turns on his heel and back out the door he just entered.

“Christ that was easy!” Shayna laughs, wiping her hand on a paper napkin.

“SEE!” Faith grins, taking a bit of Funnel Cake. “We’re losing already and the boys have been on the ice for literally 3 minutes”

Shayna stands grabbing her soda looking down at the ice over the countertop bar. “Eeeh, that’s not good. I’m gonna sit down here,” she nods at their normal seats.

Faith nods grabbing her food. “We’re coming too!” She stands up from her seat, letting out a loud burp. “Well...that was unexpected...Sorry.”

“Root beer, go figure. Good job Bubbles. I suppose I better get used to it now…” Shayna laughs taking her seat.

Faith shrugs plopping down next to her. “Will you still be my friend when my feet don't fit in my cute shoes, and I have to wear crocs and slippers everywhere?”

“You’re going to be a hot mom, don’t worry about it. And I swear to god, you even glance at pair of Crocs... “ Shayna shakes her head with a grimace. “No. Just no.”

“How do I t---FUCK!” Faith grumbles as the Calgary team scores another goal. “This isn’t going to end well…”

“Great, cranky boys.” Shayna sighs sitting back in her seat. “Tristan is going home after the game.”

“I’ve been sleeping at Ollie’s almost every night…” Faith frowns. “How do I tell him, ‘oh Oll’s by the way Bubbles says hi!’ without him freaking out?”

“That’s a good one… I don’t know how that one’s gonna happen. I’m good at scavenger hunts and clues.” Shayna shrugs.

“I think I just need to tell him just blurt it out, but I still can’t say it outloud.” Faith takes a breath.

“You’ll figure out when you are ready. I’m sure he’ll be so excited knowing him he’ll find away to be sassy about it.”

Faith nods, “I’ll figure it out,“ She takes a big gulp of Root Beer, sitting back in her chair. “I wish this game would go faster seeing as our boys are getting their asses handed to them..”

“Do you think Deni would notice if I just leave now and go hide in my apartment?” Shayna laughs, pouting.

“Yes?” Faith chuckles, “Unless...I can go with you?” she smiles.

“I’m half considering it.”

“I mean, Ollie knows I’ve been sick” Faith shrugs “I can be feeling under the weather and you can take care of me and bubbles?” She makes a kissy face at her.

“You wanna go home and put on the onesies and watch this from the couch?” Shayna grins.

Faith nods excitedly, “It’s not gonna fit soon so you know...gotta get use out of it while we can,” she giggles.

“Ok, let’s go!” Shayna looks down at the ice. “Sorry boys!” she yells as if they can hear her. “Just gotta grab my purse from upstairs.”

Faith smiles “We’ll just be waiting here eating funnel cake,” she raises a piece to her with a nod before stuffing it in her face.

Shanya nods, heading out the door to the elevators.

*******

“It’s not like them not to answer…” Oliver sighs, dialing Faith again.

Tristan looks at his phone, his text messages still unanswered. The only message was from Shayna two and a half hours ago during the game explaining that Faith wasn’t feeling well and she was taking her home. “It’s weird. And I don’t like it.”

“Faith’s been battling the flu or a stomach thing off and on for a while” Oliver frowns, “I guess it’s catching back up with her.” He throws his bag over his shoulder. “We should go check on them… just to be sure.”

“That’s fine,” Tristan nods. “I guess they went to their building if Shayna was driving.”

“I just hope that they’re at Faith’s, or else we’re shit outta luck.” Oliver rubs the back of his neck.

“Why’s that?” Tristan turns back as he opens the door to the parking lot, walking over to his truck.

“Because I have a key’s to Faith’s place and I doubt the doorman will let us in to Shayna’s?” Oliver raises an eyebrow. He throws his back in the back seat of the truck, hopping in the front seat.

“Oh, well I have keys. To the apartment. Shayna’s apartment,” Tristan turns the truck on, not making eye contact with Oliver.

“Tristan!” Oliver slaps him on the shoulder with a smile. “That’s awesome! Congrats man!”

‘I’ve been over there more, why wouldn’t I have keys?” Tristan shrugs, his facial expression neutral as he navigates the few blocks to the apartment building.

“So young, so naive,” Oliver shakes his head. “Deni, a woman doesn’t just give you keys to her apartment. It took me almost a year to get Faith’s keys. God knows, I probably shouldn't have gotten them but,” he shrugs. “The fact that Shayna gave you hers? That’s huge man.”

“Sure,” Tristan sighs as he punches in the code to the building’s garage. “Yeah, the code too. Calm yourself.”

Oliver chuckles shaking his head. “So when’re you moving in?” he smirks.

Tristan shakes his head, “I practically live here according to you so, I mean what else would I move in? Next step is a number spot,” he sarcastically comments.  

“Ok ok, whatever you say. But take my word for it. You’re in a WAY better place than you think you are.” Oliver smiles hopping out of the truck grabbing his bag from the back.

Tristan shakes his head grabbing his bag out of the back seat, closing the truck door, locking it.

“Where to first? Faith or Shay's?” Oliver nods to Rory at the desk “Hey man!”

“Shayna’s. If she was taking care of Faith they probably just went there since Faith has been staying with you,” Tristan nods to Rory as well as they walk to the elevators.

“Good call…” Oliver nods, pressing the button for the elevator. “I feel bad, I hope Shayna doesn’t get sick, but I’m glad she’s there when I can’t be.”

“I hope she doesn’t get sick either. I’m surprised you aren’t sick if that’s the case,” Tristan steps in the elevator pressing the button for Shayna’s floor. “If she’s been sick for a bit, I am really surprised.”

“I know, I kinda am too, honestly. It’s like it comes and goes?” Oliver shrugs leaning against the wall of the elevator. “It’s strange. I just feel bad for her.”

“It vaguely sounds like, well that would be interesting. Do you think-- It’s been on and off?” Tristan asks, his eyebrow raised in amusement.

Oliver nods with a yawn, “Yeah. It’s like shes sick as a dog for a couple of days, then she feels okay, then it comes back and she’s miserable again.” He frowns, “breaks my heart.”

“Funny story, my sister in law had the same problem.” Tristan grins as he walks into the hallway in the direction to the apartment.

“Why is that funny?” Oliver raises an eyebrow

“The thing is once she started feeling better she gave birth to my nephew, Greyson.” Tristan smiles as he pulls his keys back out of his pocket in front of the door.

Oliver stops abruptly in front of Shayna’s door, staring at Tristan with a blank expression on his face.

“Yeah, did you think about that?” Tristan elbows Oliver to the side putting the key in the door.

Oliver stands staring at the door, a thousand thoughts running through his head. He lets out a long sigh shaking his head, “Nope. That one never uh...never crossed my mind.”

“Maybe it’s not, I’m just saying. Pick your jaw up off the floor so we can go inside,” Tristan shakes his head as he turns the knob.

Oliver nods, still in a fog, contemplating the possibility of Faith being pregnant.

“Probably shouldn’t say anything even if she is, so don’t roll up in here asking questions,” Tristan nods as he opens the door.

“I’m not an idiot, Deni. I’m just surprised.” Oliver rubs the back of his neck nervously. “I’ll be fine.”

Tristan nods, placing his bag on the floor in the small hallway. “I hear the tv, they must be here,” he points around the wall.

Oliver drops his bag on the ground next to Tristan’s, “I’m glad you had keys,” he smacks Tristan’s shoulder with a smirk.

Tristan rolls his eyes as he kicks his shoes off. “Whatever.” He steps around the wall taking in the dimly lit living room, the tv casting a soft glow, the volume down low as the game repeats on the screen. “Yeah, don’t need to see that again,” he mutters as he moves towards the couch. “What the hell are they wearing?” his eyebrows raising as he looks over at the girls passed out clad in bright yellow onesie pajamas. “Is that… Spongebob?”

Oliver walks in behind Tristan, a smile spreading across his face. “Yeah...that’s spongebob” He chuckles, “they wear those every New Years and apparently, on game nights?”

Tristan’s eyes narrow as he walks around the couch, looking down at a sleeping Shayna. “I blame the sponge for the loss.”

Oliver pulls out his phone, turning off the flash. He frames the two girls in the shot, Faiths head resting on Shayna’s shoulder, both of their feet propped up on the coffee table. He snaps a couple of pictures with a smile. “We were losing before the jammies came out, don’t be ridiculous, Deni.”

“They are cute looking though,” Tristan tilts his head to the side. “Cute and cuddly…” he slides in along the sectional couch in next to Shayna. “Hey, Shay…” he gently pushes a piece of hair back behind her ear. “Shay….”

Shayna whines, slapping at Tristan’s hand. “No,” she sniffles closing her mouth slightly.

“Shayna, wake up. I’m pretty sure you’re drooling on Faith’s head right now.” Tristan chuckles wiping the side of her cheek. “Yup, drool.”

Oliver gently rubs Faith’s arm, “Cmon Faithy, time to wake up”

Faith stirs turning on her side wrapping her arm around Shayna with a mumble.

Tristan looks up at Oliver with his hands up. “This just got interesting. You wanna just drag her out?” he laughs.

Oliver nods, sliding his arms around Faith, lifting her up into his arms. “You gotta help me with the doors.”

Faith rests her head on Oliver’s shoulder with a moan, wrapping her arms around him. “Sleeping.”

Tristan hops over the back of the couch, sprinting to the door. “Just leave your bag, come get it tomorrow.”

“That's fine but,” Oliver nods to his bag on the floor, “my keys are in the front pouch. Square-topped key. You gotta open her door for me man,” he starts off down the hall.

“Sure, just let me leave this unlocked,” Tristan clicks the switch on the knob. “I’m coming…” he grabs the keys out of the bag, running down the hall.

Oliver smiles at him with a nod, “Thanks Deni for ya know…” he shrugs, “everything.”

Tristan unlocks the door pushing it open, clicking the first switch he sees, “Of course. I’m just gonna drop your keys here. See ya tomorrow.”

“Yeah thats fine… See you tomorrow.” Oliver carefully maneuvers through the door jam, kicking the door closed behind him.

Tristan jogs back down the hall to Shayna’s apartment, slipping inside softly shutting the door and locking it. He heads into the living room looking over the couch at a now slumped over Shayna with a chuckle.

“Shayna, baby come on, bed time,” he softly strokes her head. “Come on sleepy head.”

Shayna stirs, stretching out as far as her feet can stretch in the pajamas. “Tristan, what are you doing here?” she mutters, her voice light with sleep. “Where is Faith?”

“OIls took her to her apartment,” he leans over the back of the couch, placing a kiss her on head. “Come on, off to bed.”

“I am in bed,” Shayna pulls the pillow next to her closer to her chest, rubbing her face in it.

Tristan takes his suit jacket off tossing it over the bar stool at the breakfast bar, undoing his tie as he walks around the couch. “Nope, not in bed. You’re on the couch. Come on…. up you go,” he leans down sliding his arms around her picking her up. He turns, sliding carefully past the coffee table in the direction of the bedroom.

“You know…” Shayna yawns as she rubs her face into Tristan’s dress shirt. “Faith has Bubbles.”

“Bubbles? Were you two drinking? She’s not feeling well. Probably wasn’t the best thing.” Tristan places Shayna on to the bed, pulling the comforter out from under her.

“Bubbles… baby. Bubbles is a baby,” Shayna smiles as she settles into the mattress. “She’s having a baby.”

Tristan pauses, holding the blanket over her. “She what?”

“You can’t say anything… no one knows. Just me, Faith and Bubbles.”

“Shayna, did she tell you that?” Tristan tucks the blanket around her.

Shayna softly snores into the pillow, fast asleep. Tristan shakes his head as he leans down placing a kiss on her forehead.

****  
  
  


*******

****  
  


The smell of coffee and bacon wafts through the apartment. Tristan stands at the stove, cooking breakfast before heading to the arena for practice.

“For the love of god, two things,” Shayna rubs her eyes standing in the bedroom doorway. “One, who let me sleep in the onsie? It was like a sauna sleeping backed up against you. Two, where did you find that disgusting bacon?”

Tristan chuckles, “Good morning to you too. You were so exhausted I didn’t even try to take you out of those pajamas, even though I really wanted to.” he smirks at her. “And two, I went to the store across the street? Got orange juice, bacon and new bread since you literally had ONE slice left. Who eats the heel of the loaf anyway?” he made a face at her. “Gross.”

“Just dump some grape jelly on it’s all the same. Still bread?” Shayna shrugs sliding on the stool in front of him making grabby hands at the toast next to him on the counter. “Jelly is in the fridge on the door. I hope you put the kettle on for tea. Orange juice? How are we even dating?”

Tristan shakes his head handing her the toast, “The water is already hot for your tea,” he reaches across the counter passing Shayna the jelly jar,  “jelly for your toast…” he flips the bacon in the pan so it doesn’t burn. “Orange juice is delicious. We are dating because I’m ridiculously sexy and you can’t keep your eyes or hands off of me,” he muses with a smirk.  

“Touche, sir,” Shayna grins spreading the grape jelly on her toast. “Ugh, this is almost out. I’ll have to put jelly on the list for shopping later this weekend” she pushes the empty jar across the counter.

Tristan grabs the jelly jar, dropping it in the recycling bin before pulling the pan off the stove to cool. “So...Shayna…” he leans on the counter, taking a sip of his coffee. “I have a question.”

Shayna stops mid bite, toast in her mouth, eyes wide. “Uh, ok?”

“Bubbles. You’re going to need to elaborate on that one.” He smirks, bringing the mug to his lips.

“I… I’m sorry…. what was that?” Shayna drops the toast to the counter, the jelly sliding off on to the stone surface. “Come again?”

“Last night you were mumbling about you, Faith and Bubbles, the baby…” Tristan raises his eyebrow, a smile on his lips. “You need to tell me everything you know.”

“Tristan… I… I said that? Are you sure? You know, I have been known to talk random stuff when I sleep. It’s been a while. I mean, I haven’t fought my lamp lately sleepwalking,” Shayna takes a deep breath.

“Shayna…” Tristan gives her a look. “Your rambling and toast dropping tells me that you and I both know this is much more than sleep talking…”

Shayna bites her thumbnail, looking at the counter. “I… I swear you can’t tell anyone. Faith… she’s pregnant. She’s had home tests done and some blood work. She has an appointment for an official ultrasound in a few weeks. Just you can’t say anything! She’ll kill me.”

Tristan places his mug down roughly on the counter, clapping his hands together, “I KNEW IT!” He smile smugly, silently patting himself on the back.

Shanya narrows her eyes at him, grabbing a napkin to wipe remaining jelly off her hand. “You knew what?”

“When Oliver and I were leaving the game last night, he was talking about how Faith has been fighting the stomach bug off and on for a few weeks. You don’t battle the stomach bug for weeks, and no one around you gets sick, Shayna.” Tristan shook his head, “Plus this is exactly the way that Marc’s wife was sick when she was pregnant with Greyson. Poor Oll’s looked like his heart was going to stop. Either that or he was going to puke.”

“Stop? Is that good or bad? Oh god, I hope it’s good. She’s so terrified about telling him.” Shayna frowns wiping the jelly off the counter.

Tristan shrugs scrunching his nose, “I don’t know really. To be honest, he looked shocked? I don’t think that thought ever crossed his mind. I don’t know how he would react. A baby is a big deal...” Tristan trails off, “A really big deal. It’s a whole person.”

“I know, I know,” Shayna sighs. “Bright side though, I’m going to be an aunt!”

Tristan chuckles “Yes, to bubbles?” he raises an eyebrow.

“She was calling it Spawn. I can’t deal with my future godchild being referred to as spawn. She said Bubbles next. It worked considering she’s gassy already.”

“I will officially never understand you women,” Tristan shook his head with a smile. “When is she telling Oliver? He’s going to start snooping, you know that right?”

Shayna gives him a shrug, “No idea. She was milling about an idea but, nothing was confirmed.”

“An idea?” Tristan eyes her confused. “You need an idea to tell someone you’re pregnant?”

“Such a male. What fun is that? Just drop a pregnancy test on the table and give a handshake. Perhaps an episode of Maury? Jesus…”

Tristan chuckles, “No not exactly...but I’d hope when we have kids you can come to me and just say, ‘Tristan...I’m pregnant.’ or ‘Tristan, we’re having a baby.’ I don’t need you to write it with an airplane or send me a singing telegram or anything.”

“Are you…. I… uhhh…” Shayna gapes at him, her mouth slack, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

Tristans cheery look quickly drops off, the color draining from his face. “You’re not pregnant too, are you…”

“Me? No… No…. not me. NO. You said when we have kids… me and you,” she grins, slightly biting at her finger nervously.

Tristan nods with a smile, “Well...Yeah, I’d imagine some day we’d have kids... You want kids...right?”

Shayna nods back, her cheeks still red. “With you… yes.”

Tristan leans forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t look so nervous,” he smiles spooning eggs out onto a plate for her. “I’m not saying tomorrow...just...one day. I want you to just be able to talk to me about things,” he hands the plate to her.

****  
  
  


**********

****  
  


Faith moans miserably as she jumps out of bed quickly running off to the bathroom. Oliver stirs next to her, listening as she slams the bathroom door down the hallway. After a few minutes of being violently sick to her stomach, Faith slowly makes her way back into the room crawling back into bed, her back towards Oliver.  She tucks a big pillow under her arm, her body wrapped around it.   
  
"...you okay?" Oliver mumbles sliding his arm around her.

“No,” Faith whines, burying her face into the cool pillow.

“Still sick to your stomach?” Oliver frowns, rubbing her side lightly. “What can I do, baby?”   
  
"I don't want to talk about it, Ollie." Faith sulks into the pillow. She tucks her hand under the dark material of the blankets pulling them up over her head.   
  
"It's ok..." Oliver curls up behind her, wrapping his arms snugly around her blanketed form. "We don't have to talk about it. I just want you to feel better."  
  
The pair lay tangled together for a couple of minutes with Oliver gently rubbing her back and shoulders. Faith finally lets out a soft sigh leaning back against him. She untucks the blanket letting her hand sneak out from under the covers. She wraps her fingers around his hand, pulling it under the blankets. Lifting the bottom of her shirt she places his hand flush against her belly, resting her hand on top of his.  
  
Oliver lays quietly for a minute trying to process Faith's behavior. Recalling his conversation with Tristan his whole body tenses, his features going wide eyed. "Faithy..." He props himself up on his elbow, his torso hovering over hers.  
  
"I said I don't want to talk about it..." Faith mutters from under the blankets.  
  
Oliver gently pulls back the covers from her head, exposing a brown mop of curls buried into the pillow. "I know...but....Faith!"  
  
Faith huffs rolling over onto her back staring up at the ceiling. "Ok, Oliver, Fine. Let's TALK."  
  
As Oliver bends down to give her a kiss Faith turns her head away from him. "Why don’t you want to talk about this?"  
  
"Oh well gee, Oll's let me think. Maybe because I haven't had a period since before Halloween and Christmas is next week..." Faith snaps at him throwing the covers back, swinging her feet off the side of the bed. She reaches into the nightstand pulling out a small box dumping it out on the bed, 9 different positive pregnancy tests scattering on the sheet in front of him. "And then there's all THIS..." She waves her hand over the scattered tests.

  
"Faith..." Oliver gapes looking down at the tests. He frowns as he sits up scooting over next to her. "Faithy," he wraps his arms around her, “baby, why didn’t you tell me?"  
  
"I don't KNOW!" Faith shrugs him off. "Why are you being so CLINGY!"  
  
Oliver sat back into the pillows with a smile on his face, "Baby, you need to calm down."  
  
"Calm down?!" She glares at him. “And Stop calling me baby, just STOP saying BABY!”  
  
He interlocks his fingers behind his head with a smirk.  
  
"What?!" Faith huffs at him, "what the hell are you laughing about. You think this is funny?"  
  
"Well...." Oliver sat up quickly wrapping his arms around her pulling her down ontop of him.  "You're whiney..." he places a soft kiss on her cheek. "And cranky..." he kisses her other cheek. "...hypersensitive..." He cups her face gently, "and pregnant.” Oliver smiles up at her.  
  
Faith buries her head into his neck. “Stop.”  
  
"You're pregnant." He repeats, his arms tightening around her.   
  
"Ollie..." Faith whines, slapping his arm in protest.

"You're Pregnant, Faith."

"I swear to god..." Faith grumbles against his shirt, pushing against him.

Oliver kisses the top of her head softly. "Say it..."

Faith quickly shook her head against his chest. "No."

"Faith, it's ok....it's all gonna be ok." He runs his hands through her hair, smoothing down her messy curls. "You need to say it, baby..."

Faith sighs softly while squeezing her eyes shut, the warm tears leaking out onto his shoulder. "I can't...I've been trying for days...and I still can't."

Oliver lifts her head, brushing his thumb over her cheek. "Say it Faith.."

"Ollie.." She frowns.

Oliver pulls her face down to his, pressing his lips against hers. "No pouting..." His lips curling up at the edges. "Tell me..."

"I'm pregnant..." Faith whispers softly.

Oliver nods, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "Again.." His smile growing wider.

"I'm pregnant." Faith repeats with more confidence. “I’m pregnant.”

"Faith..." Oliver grins up at her.

“We made a baby….a BABY, Oliver.” Faith bent down giving him a kiss, a slow smile spreading across her face. “We’re having a baby.” She mumbles against his lips.

“Just when I thought I couldn’t be any more in love with you…” Oliver shakes his head petting her hair gently.

“I have to go to the doctor for a sonogram on the 3rd... Dr. Parker said we should be able to hear the baby’s heart beat." Faith rests her head on his shoulder, her fingers playing with the hem of his t-shirt at the collar. "If you don’t have practice or anything, it would mean alot to me if you could come...”

"Are you really asking me if I'd go with you?" Oliver raises an eyebrow, staring up at her. "Faith, I love you...we're getting married...what part of that makes you think that I wouldn't be there for this too?"

"I don't. I didn't. I'm just asking....these kind of appointments are..." Faith makes a face, "Well, Ollie, they're invasive and uncomfortable and I didn't know if you felt comfortable going...but I just wanted you to know I want you there."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything."


	22. And no one understands what we went through...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home and home against Toronto brings in some of Shayna's past..... mistakes? I wouldn't say mistake but yanno.... it causes some waves. This one is exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Olly Murs (again!) "Dear Darlin'". He's so good. Honestly. 
> 
> Sorry to the real life inspiration of Jonathan Reilly. He's not a douchebag like this in real life. He's actually the complete opposite! He's so sweet! It was more for looks... and maybe his fighting on the ice. I still love you though DC even though I love "Tristan" more. :) <3 
> 
> Kudos and comments kids! It's always appreciated!

Shayna looks at her drink on the bar top, rolling it around on the cardboard coaster, glancing at her phone.

 

“Faith will be here,” Tristan puts his hand on her glass. “You’re spilling all over the place. Calm yourself.”

 

“I know, I’m just anxious,”  Shayna shrugs.

 

“She’s probably just running late, as usual.” Tristan smiles pulling the glass back from her hands. “No need to be anxious.”

 

“I’m so sorry I’m late, the stupid meeting took forever. Save my seat I need to pee.” Faith walks up to the bar dropping her bag and cell phone on the counter before continuing down to the end of the bar towards the bathroom.

 

Tristan nods, “And there she is.”

 

“Finally. Wonder where Olls is.” Shayna turns in her chair looking around.

 

“Knowing Ollie, he’s probably passed out asleep on his couch, or building a crib,” Tristan chuckles flinching to avoid Shayna’s slap.

 

“Jesus, shut up!” Shayna takes a sip of her drink. “I didn’t tell her I accidentally told you yet. Although you already put the idea in Oliver’s head previous to that but still! Shush!”

 

Faith emerges from the bathroom, lingering at the end of the bar, nodding to Zach.

 

“Faithy! Hi, what can I get you?” Zach strolls over throwing a bar towel over his shoulder.

 

“Honey look… I’m going to tell you something, and you can’t make a big deal out of it, and you can’t tell anyone, ok?” Faith looks around to make sure none of her friends were in earshot.

 

Zach looks at her, giving her the once over. “You didn’t pick up Shayna’s trainer and he told you that you can’t drink? I swear, if he tells her that one more time.”

 

Faith giggles shaking her head, “No no, nothing like that. But… I’m pregnant, and I can’t drink…but we aren’t telling anyone yet since it’s still so early.”

 

“Sweetie! Oh that’s amazing news! Oh, I get it now. Ok, so double sodas for you.” he winks at her with a nod.

 

“Exactly!” Faith smiles, “Shayna knows, but no one else. So...You can make my Vodka Tonics hold the vodka.”

 

“You got it. What ever you want. Congratulations!”

 

Faith leans over the bar giving him a hug before walking back over to Tristan and Shayna. “Sorry!” she hops up on the barstool hanging her purse on the hook under the countertop. “How’s it going?” She smiles at them.

 

“Oh you know,  hanging.” Shayna turns looking at Faith with narrow eyes. “Sooooo, you know…” she nods.

 

Faith looks over at Tristan before looking back to Shayna.

 

“Oh fuck, that’s right,” Shayna turns to Tristan standing behind her chair. “Go talk to the boys or something… girl talk time,” she nods in the direction of Logan, Gavin and Luca down the bar a few seats.

 

Tristan looks at them, “You mean you aren’t talking already via ESP?”

 

Faith crosses her arms, “We are, but there seems to be interference in the area,” she points at him, raising her eyebrows.

 

“I get when I’m not wanted.” Tristan pouts. “We’ll see when you need a new drink, Shayna.”

 

“Really?” Shayna rolls her eyes grabbing the front of his t-shirt pulling him to her kissing him. “Have fun with the boys.”

 

Faith smirks with a wave as Tristan walks down the bar. “Byeeeee Deni.”

 

“Nice ass in those jeans!” Shayna leans back in her seat watching him walk away. “So.”

 

Faith nods with a smile, “Yeah…”

 

“So, good, bad, freak out, sassy pants? What happened?”

 

“We were laying in bed this morning, and of course, like every morning, I had to bolt out of bed to go throw up.” Faith frowns, “but anyway, I got back into bed and he was just you know. Being Oliver.” She smiles shaking her head, “he was rubbing my back, and stroking my hair… and I just took his hand and put it on my stomach… and he just knew.”

 

“Aww! So he was excited?” Shayna grins.

 

Faith nods, “Yeah, I think so...he just kept saying ‘you’re pregnant’, ‘you’re pregnant!’, ‘Faith, you’re pregnant!’, over and over…and every time he said it, his smile got bigger,” Faith giggles. “And he made me say it...and oddly enough, it just made things feel better?” Faith shrugs looking down at her hands, “I wonder if maybe I was more scared of telling him, than I thought...you know?”

 

“Eeee! This is so exciting now! Good! I’m happy you feel better about it and that weight is lifted about it. I told you he would be so overjoyed about it. He’s going to be amazing!” Shayna bounces in her chair.

 

Faith orders a Tonic water with lime, twirling the straw between her fingers. “He really is going to be an amazing dad.” Faith grins, “we’re having a baby, you know.”

 

“I’m going to be an aunt!” Shayna takes a sip of her drink. “I guess I should say, Tristan knows. I KNOW,” she held her hand up. “He talked to Oliver before they found us. He just said it was weird how you were sick and he wasn’t or even me since we’re always together.”

 

“It’s ok if he knows. I just don’t want to tell people yet. It’s still really early, and honestly anything could happen. We don’t even know, you know, if bubbles is even really, you know.” Faith trails off sadly.

 

“I know. It’ll be fine,” Shayna smiles. “Oh, oh and when we were discussing it, Tristan said he wanted to have kids with me.” Shayna drops her straw on the bar top taking gulp of her drink. “Kids... with me.”

 

Faith smirks picking up her glass, clinking it against Shayna’s. “Hooray, hop on it, and let’s start the wedding planning!”

 

Oliver reaches over Faith’s shoulder, grabbing the glass from out of her hand.

 

“Hey…” Faith frowns, giving him a pout. “That’s mine…”

 

“What is this?” Oliver sniffs the glass, taking a sip of it. “Oh… alright.” he smiles handing the glass back.

 

“Oh so this is what I have to look forward to for the next 7 months?” Faith chuckles, “So overprotective.”

 

“You honestly think I of all people would let her drink?” Shayna scoffs. “Me, of all people. That’s my godchild, which by the way, CONGRATULATIONS!”

 

“No, I’m just…” Oliver shrugs with a smile, “Thanks, Shay.”

 

“He’s freaking out inside.” Faith rubs his arm with a smile. “It’s ok... In all honesty, it was really cute that you did that though.”

 

Jonathan Reilly strolls up to the bar, sliding into the seat next to Shayna. “I thought I’d find you here looking just as beautiful as I remember.”

 

Faith raises an eyebrow, looking at Shayna with a smirk, bringing her lips to the straw to keep silent.

 

Shayna swings around in her chair, eyes wide as she takes in Jonathan sitting next to her. “Jonathan? What the fucking hell? What are you doing here?” She gives him the once over, the tattoos on his arm on full display, the sleeves on his black long sleeve henley pushed up to his elbows, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement as he watches her look at him.

 

Faith pats Oliver’s arm “Go get Deni…” she nods down the bar, “go!”

 

“What? You’re not happy to see me?” Jonathan smiles at her, adjusting his Toronto baseball hat turning it backwards so his face is visible. “You didn’t return my texts,” he rubs at the couple day old reddish stubble on his face.

 

“I don’t have texts from you?” Shayna glares at him, taking a deep breath. “I’m su---” she turns her phone over, looking over the notifications on her screen from his texts, trying hard not to look him in face. “Well there they are,” she blushes.

 

“What are you drinking? Let me get the next one. We can go get comfortable and catch up,” he nods out towards the fire pit.

 

“I’m actually quite comfortable here thanks. I uh… Yeah no.” Shayna coughs looking over at Faith with wide eyes and a silent whimper.

 

“Hi! I’m Faith…” She reaches out her hand with a smile, “Shayna is a lesbian now. Can you please step away from my girlfriend? She only wants to be comfortable with me.”

 

“Has it been that long, Faith? Really?” Jonathan smiles looking over at her. “And I’m pretty sure Shay’s not a lesbian. Really sure she’s not.”

 

Faith huffs, “Damnit, that worked last time.” She chuckles to herself. “It hasn’t been that long, but you know, wishful thinking..”

 

Tristan steps in between Shayna and Faith, staring down Jonathan as he slides an arm around Shayna’s shoulders.

 

“Deniau.” Jonathan stares up at him, his jaw tensing as he watches Tristan kiss Shayna on her head.

 

“Reilly.” Tristan mutters through clenched teeth. “Can I help you with something?”

 

“No, I don’t need your help.” Jonathan smiles up at him smugly. “I was just buying Shayna a drink, and we were going to catch up. It’s been a while.”

 

Tristan shakes his head, “I’ve already purchased all of Shayna’s drinks for the next 50 years or so, so. You can try one of the waitresses over there,” he points towards the servers corner.

 

Shayna bites her lip looking over at Jonathan. “I’m good, thanks.”

 

Jonathan scoffs with a chuckle, “Shay, baby you can’t be serious about this Backstreet Boy wannabe.”

 

Shayna winces, Tristan’s fingers clenching around her shoulder. “This is Tristan, my boyfriend, in case you didn’t get that.”

 

“What happened to miss ‘I don’t do relationships’?” Jonathan raises an eyebrow.

 

“Looks like she just didn’t want YOU.” Tristan smiles proudly.

 

“I believe that was you? I mean, you don’t want me to repeat that conversation do you?” Shayna smiles, her hand instinctively going for the key on her necklace. “Some people are worth a relationship.”

 

“Shayna, come on. You and I both know you’re just obsessed with the kid’s charming good looks and his little french accent. You’ve been pining for him for like three years now. He’s only just given you the time of day now?” Jonathan shook his head, “There’s a reason you and I always end up back together.”

 

“I assure you, Reilly, there is nothing ‘little’, about me.” Tristan glares at him, subconsciously cracking the knuckles in his right hand.

 

“AMEN” Faith shouts from over Tristan’s shoulder.

 

Shayna snorts with a giggle, “For real…” she mutters, Tristan’s hand giving her a little squeeze.

 

“So you’re just going to let him do the talking for you Shayna? You can’t talk to an old friend without his consent before hand? Do you need permission?” Jonathan mocks, glaring at Shayna.

 

"Hey," Tristan snaps his fingers inches from Jonathan's face, catching his attention. "Don't you dare look at her like that again. EVER.” His eyes dark, pupils dilated, his face drawn.

 

Faith hops up off her barstool taking a step back, “I’ma just be over here…” she points down towards the rest of the boys, wanting to leave the area before the fight breaks out.

 

“What the hell do you mean permission? I don’t need permission for anything, Jonathan. That’s fucking rude as shit.”

 

“It just looks like Mr. Serious over here keeps you on a pretty tight leash.” Jonathan shrugs his shoulders, taking a sip of his beer.

 

“Are you fucking for real? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Shayna slides off her barstool.

 

Tristan puts his hands on her shoulders, gently pulling her back down on her stool, “Not worth it. Just relax,” He gently rubs her shoulders, keeping her sitting in the chair. “Walk away, Reilly.”

 

“Just leave Jonathan. Obviously I’m not interested, so just go,” Shayna huffs, shaking her now empty glass at Zach. “For christ sake.”

 

Jonathan stands from his stool with a nod, “I’ll see you tomorrow for practice right Shay? Just like old times?” He smirks at Deni, “I’ll see you on the ice. I’d keep both eyes open.”

 

“Shut your mouth, Jonathan,” Shayna growls watching Jonathan walk down the bar past the other members of the Scarlet towards the exit.

 

“Did you know he was going to show up?” Tristan asks, his voice steely and angry.

 

“No, honest I didn’t. I didn’t even know he texted me until he showed up here. I was talking to you and then to Faith. I never looked back at my phone,” Shayna huffs, dropping her head to the bar top. “Honest. I’m sorry.”

 

“Were you going to go sit outside to talk with him?”

 

“I told him no. If he wanted to talk like a normal person he could have done so in here.” Shayna sits up in her chair.

 

“It didn’t seem like a normal chat was what he was here for,” Tristan sits in the chair next to her just vacated by Jonathan.

 

“No, obviously,” Shayna sighs accepting her fresh drink from Zach.

 

“Has he spoken to you at all previously to this?” his face unemotional, cold.

 

“No. I would have told you otherwise. Are you trying to dig to see if I’m lying to you Tristan?” Shayna glares at him with sad eyes. “Do you not trust me?”

 

Tristan sighs, rubbing his eyes “I didn’t say that. I know Toronto is in this week. He just has some balls showing up here,” his hand tightens around the glass in his hand. “I had forgotten about your…. situation.”

 

“Well, that’s what he usually does. If I’m not home, I’m at the arena or here. I didn’t even think of it because I’m in a relationship...”

 

“So you’re saying this is just normal?”

 

“It was. I haven’t talked to him since… the end of last season. He tried to meet up with us in Vegas in the summer but I just wasn’t having it.”

 

“Gotcha,” Tristan take a sip of his drink.

 

“I’m sorry, Tristan. I completely forgot about him thanks to my totally hot and awesome boyfriend,” Shayna smiles leaning to the side resting her head on his arm. “Can we just go back to having fun with our friends please? Don’t be so upset. I know it escalated a bit, but he’s gone. Don’t worry about it.”

 

Tristan sighs, his hand reaching up patting the side of Shayna’s head. “Yeah, I guess we can.”

 

“Good, let’s go down by everyone else…” Shayna slides off her chair pointing at the crowd at the end of the bar.

  
  


******

 

Shayna hands Everly the iPhone 6 Plus from her desk pulling it back slightly before she grabs it. “Listen ok, so since you are our new Social Media coordinator, you protect this phone with your life. Don’t let anyone take it.” She pulls a folder from the stack next to her. “This is all the information as far as what platforms the team is using, the log on information and passwords. Obviously you’re not dumb and know how to use these, but yanno. Have fun with it.”

 

“I’m really so excited about this,” Everly takes the phone in her hands looking at the case on it.

 

“And most importantly, don’t just take pictures of London! There are other members of the team!” Shayna smiles looking at her from her desk chair. “I’ll send you emails to the account on the phone to keep you updated as to what content they want you to post. Videos are always encouraged too.”

 

“Gotcha. Thanks for this Shay, I really appreciate it,” Everly nods at her scanning through the email account.

 

“Also I’ll give you while you are here all the stuff you need for the Toronto trip since you’ll be helping Faith in my place. Mostly she’ll tell you what you need to do be doing, but the biggest thing is to help out with check in and check out. That’s the biggest pain in the ass but it goes so much quicker when there is two people. You can always call me too if anything. Oh and the ticket requests! Everything is in this folder,” Shayna hands her another file folder.

 

“Christ, you love folders don’t you?” Everly looks at her taking the folder from her hand.

 

“Organization is key to this job Evs. Also any excuse to have fun colored items is also encouraged,” Shayna smiles. “So just check in with Faith, but everything should be all set for you for travel. Make sure you have your passport and you’re ready to roll here at 12 for when the bus leaves for the airport.”

 

“Got it. Thanks so much again,” Everly smiles tapping away at the phone as she walks out of Shayna’s cubical.

 

 

******

 

“What do you feel like for dinner?” Shayna calls out from the kitchen looking around in her refrigerator. “There isn’t much in here that I can pull together and truthfully, I’m really not in the mood to cook anything.”

 

Tristan strides into the kitchen looking over Shayna’s head, “You need to go food shopping.”

 

“You need to stop eating me out of house and home,” Shayna smiles shutting the door as she turns around. “Or if you are going to eat everything in sight, at least then go food shopping yourself.”

 

“You really want to send me to the supermarket? I’ll come back with just ice cream, random vegetables, bacon, orange juice and maybe some fish. You don’t even like half of the stuff I would buy,” Tristan smirks pulling her to him in a hug. “We all can’t live off of grape jelly, waffles, chicken cutlets, ridiculous amounts of cheese, potatoes, peppers and onions.”

 

“I’ll place an order then,” Shayna scoffs. “I don’t see you having a problem with everything that was here. Horrible, just horrible. Picking on your girlfriend,” she shakes her head looking up at him.

 

“Oh excuse me, miss ‘I have rules for how I eat my food’. What do you want to do? Go somewhere or order something?” Tristan chuckles squeezing her in his arms.

 

Shayna purses her lips, squinting her eyes as she thinks for a second. “Mmm, stay in? I don’t want to get dressed.”

 

“Good call. Do you wanna call that place with those really good chicken dishes? From like across town?” Tristan lets go of her, placing a kiss her on forehead.

 

“Yes! Their number is in my phone, I think it’s called…. I don’t know, something Italian.” Shayna waves her hand. “It’s in my phone, my phone is on the table. Just scroll in my recents. Faith and I called from the office the other day. I’m just gonna get rid of some stuff in the fridge. Order me the chicken with bruschetta and mozzarella with a side of penne.”

 

Tristan nods as he walks back into the living room area, searching the table for Shayna’s cell phone on her dining room table. He grabs it clicking the home button to unlock it, noticing there are notifications on her screen. Typing in the passcode he looks up to see if Shayna’s looking as he looks at the notifications noting the name ‘Jonathan Reilly’. Tristan takes a deep breath, debating on looking at the conversation or not, his finger twitching above the message symbol. He decides to just take a look wondering what they could have possibly been talking about.

  
  


**Jonathan (8:45pm):** _Hey Shay! Guess who’s in town?_

**Jonathan (8:52pm):** _Silent treatment? :/_

**Jonathan (8:58pm):** _Well then I guess I’ll just come find you. Probably at Mile._

 

**Jonathan (11:13pm):** _I can’t believe you are dating Deniau… does he know how crazy obsessed you are over him? The insane amount of shit you have of his?_

**Jonathan (11:15pm):** _Maybe he’s just hitting it because you’re just so obsessed with him? I remember how that was… sad I can’t do it again._

**Shayna (11:20pm): Are you quite finished yet? Jesus fuck, when did you turn in to such an asshole… what the fuck is your problem? We had this discussion last season when you busted my ass for his jersey. I seem to remember you flipping your shit telling me I was completely delusional and he wouldn’t give me the time of day and I should be happy that you were even showing up at my apartment. And then I threatened to call the cops?**

**Jonathan (11:25pm):** _But we made up after that? I gave you the eyes, a little pout and you came running back like the good little girl you are…. You should do that now._

**Shayna (11:27pm):** **You are honestly out of your mind.**

**Jonathan (11:30pm):** _Come on, why don’t you come to practice tomorrow, we can pick up where we left off. You can meet me at the locker rooms ;) We are staying at your favorite hotel with those really comfy and soft beds you like._

**Shayna (11:37pm):** **FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST NO.**

**Shayna (11:38pm):** **Get it through your fucking thick skull…. I AM DATING TRISTAN DENIAU. I AM COMPLETELY HAPPY, I LOVE THE SHIT OUT OF HIM. NO. If you want to have a normal friendship, fine considering our previous history, but if you are going to be fucking obnoxious no. JUST NO. We’re done. No more. Never again.**

 

**Jonathan (2:12pm):** _Still time to make it to practice. I’ll wear those compression pants you like ;)_

**Jonathan (2:13pm):** _I know you are reading this… you can’t ignore me forever. You’ll come back, just like every other time. Even after the Vegas episode with what was his face? You came back. You don’t do relationships Shayna. Don’t lie to yourself. You won’t ever commit to anyone which is why you’ll never have a stable relationship._

**Jonathan (2:16pm):** _It’s just sad that you’ll string poor Deniau along with promises of commitments and never follow through._

**Shayna (3:30pm):** **You’re an absolute vile person. How dare you even bring up Vegas. You don’t even know what happened then.  I don’t belong to you. Seriously, shut the fuck up.**

 

**Jonathan (5:45pm):** _Vegas? Are you serious? Or are we supposed to pretend that you don’t fuck that guy everytime you’re there? What even is his name… don’t make me look him up._

**Jonathan (5:51pm):** _Ryan… that’s it. How is he doing? When did you see him last? The summer? Don’t you go out there to see Faith’s parents all the time? Probably going to see him when you head there for the All Star break no doubt_.

**Jonathan (5:57pm):** _Come on Shayna, own up. Someone should just tell Deniau now not to get his hopes up on you…._

 

“Hey, did you find the number yet? You’ve been awfully quiet in here…” Shayna walks out into the living room stopping short of the dining room table where Tristan is standing holding her phone. “Is something the matter?”

 

Tristan looks up, his blue eyes cold, his face drawn in, angry. “Who the fuck is Ryan? And why is Jonathan messaging you? I thought you said you weren’t talking to him?” he holds her phone up, the conversation on the screen.

 

“Are you looking at my messages?” Shayna’s eyes go wide, her voice a pitch higher than normal. “What are you doing?”

 

“Answer my questions.” Tristan growls between his clenched teeth.

 

“No, I wasn’t talking to Jonathan completely. He’s been harassing me since last night. If you read the conversation, which I imagine you have, I was defending myself from the shitstorm he was slinging at me.”

 

“Did you see him today?” Tristan grips the phone in his hand, his eyes narrowing as he looks at her.

 

“Did I see him today? Are you serious? I was at the office, then I saw you, we’ve been here ever since we came in. I’ve been with you for at least 85% of my day. We woke up together, parted for the office and then came back here. Do you honestly think I would go see him? Are you out of your mind?”

 

“And who is…” he looks at the phone “Ryan?”

 

“Ryan is a performer for Thunder From Down Under in Vegas. Faith and I frequent their show when we are in town. It’s a male revue. I…. I hooked up with him like years ago. It hasn't been recent. I have seen him when we are in Vegas because we are friends. He's one of my best guy friends. I figured I'd introduce you when we go to Vegas for break to see Faiths parents.... unless you weren't gonna go. I couldn't handle the distance and didn't want to leave Seattle. I couldn't commit to a relationship. It kinda broke me. Then we would hook up a little when we would be together. It's not serious. I haven't been to Vegas since the summer...." Shayna takes a shaky breath looking at Tristan's still furious face.

 

"When did you last hook up?"

 

"Like a year ago? A year ago from the summer. Faith could back me up for that."

 

"Do you just have random hook ups? That seems to be the recurring trend. Am I a random hook up?" Tristan's eyes go soft with fear looking at Shayna.

 

She shakes her head at him "No of course not. Tristan, I told you I love you. You don't understand how hard that was for me. You changed everything."

 

"You told me it wasn't lust. But someone else who apparently knows you better says different,” Tristan runs his free hand through his hair, rubbing at his face.

 

“You’re going to take his word over mine? Really Tristan?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me about Ryan?”

 

“You asked if I dated a hockey player. I answered you. We never really discussed anything else after that. Like I said, you were going to meet him if we got to Vegas…” Shayna sighs rubbing her eyes.

 

“I feel like you’re not telling me everything…”

 

“You don’t tell me anything! I don’t know anything about your past relationships!” Shayna screams, her eyes starting to water.

 

“I just… never mind,” Tristan drops her phone to the table. “I’m just… I’ll talk to you later.” He walks to the breakfast bar past where Shayna is standing grabbing his keys off the counter, kicking his shoes to the hallway.

 

“You’re just going to leave?” Shayna runs the back of her hand under her glasses.

 

Tristan looks up as he puts on his sneaker, nodding his head. He reaches down slipping his foot into the second one. Standing up he looks at Shayna with a frown as he grabs his sweatshirt from the chair.

 

The door slams shut in the hallway. Shayna let’s out a sob as she grabs her phone off the table punching in Faith’s number.

 

“Thank you for calling the I just peed my pants hotline, how may I direct your call?”

 

Shayna sobs again into the phone, “Faith…. I just….. Tristan just left.”

 

“Shay?” Faith’s smile drops hearing her voice, “Shay what happened? Are you home? Where are you?”

 

“I’m… I’m home. Tristan just left. He’s pissed. I ruined everything…” Shayna sniffles as she sits on the floor, her back against the couch. “Jonathan… he’s been fucking texting me fucked up shit. I answered him back to tell him to shut the fuck up but he just kept saying shit. I gave my phone to Tristan to call for dinner….. he saw the messages. I don’t know what to do….” she sobs again, louder. “He left me.”

 

“Honey give me two minutes, I’ll be right there…” Faith grabs her keys off the table, sliding on her slippers. She pushes the end button on her phone, sending Tristan a text.

 

**Faith (6:21pm):** _Don’t know specifics but Jonathan is a grubby PoS. Don’t take anything he says to heart.  Just remember whose side you SHOULD be on…_

 

Faith throws the bolt on her door, walking down the hallway to Shayna’s apartment. “Shay…” She pushes the door open slowly, seeing her sitting on the floor in tears. She frowns closing the door behind her, “Booboo, what happened…”

 

Shayna holds her phone up to Faith, “Here.”

 

Faith takes the phone from her hand sliding down to the floor next to her. She scrolls through the messages shaking her head, “Hes such a fucking slimeball, what the hell is his problem…” Faith reads the end of the messages, her jaw clenched. “Number one, he has no right to bring up Ry-O in any of this. That’s some shady shit...Second of all...Why exactly was Deni mad about this? if anything he should be mad at Jonathan...not you?!” Faith scratches her head confused, “It doesn’t make sense…”

 

“I… I just think he thinks I didn’t tell him something? Ryan is my friend, if we ever got to Vegas I would just introduce him as such? Jonathan made it seem like it was something way worse than that. I would have told him our history, but we are such good friends…. I don’t know? I think he’s just taking it out on me.”

 

“I’m not saying he's wrong or right...but I’ll be honest...if Ollie was still friends with Sophie….” Faith’s eyes narrow, giving Shayna a look. “I’d fuck a bitch up so fast...Both of them actually.  NOW that being said, I love Ry, it was something that just kinda...uhm...happened? But I can see where Deni would be upset about not knowing. Not that you purposefully didn’t tell him..but...ya know.” Faith makes a face, “Maybe he’s just scared that he has competition...you know how boys are. Always thinking with their penises!” Faith wraps her arms around her shoulders. “Stop crying, it makes bubbles sad,” she pouts.

 

Shayna nods, wiping at her eyes. “He just said ‘do you just have random hook ups? Am I a random hook up?’ Like really?”

 

Faith couldn’t help but smile, “Shayna...He’s terrified. If he’s worried about being ‘just a hookup’, you have to know how much you mean to him. God, he’s got it BAD.” Faith rubs Shayna’s back gently, “Let him calm down, let his ego heal a little bit that he didn’t know EVERYTHING about you. Text him tonight before the game...tell him good luck, you want to talk later to clear things up, and that you love him.”

 

**********

 

Faith sits quietly next to Shayna, watching the Scarlet battle Toronto. The two teams have been rivals for years, but this game was especially tense, everyone was feeling the pressure. Faith turns to Shayna, offering her some of her carrot sticks. “Bubs wants to have snack time with Auntie Shay…”

 

Shayna shook her head quietly, while biting on her thumbnail. Her focus has been on the railing the entire game, the Jonathan and Tristan situation really taking a toll on her.

 

“Shay you promised me you could handle being here…” Faith frowns,putting her plate down on the ledge beside her. “We should go…”

 

“I’m fine… this is my job, Faith. I need to be here.” Shayna mumbles sadly.

 

The crowd erupts into a string of cheers as Logan chips the puck past the defenseman racing into the Toronto zone. The goaltender makes a pad stop, kicking the puck out wide, where Jonathan retrieves the rebound darting up the ice. He dumps the puck deep into the Scarlet end, Tristan heading into the corner to clear the zone. As he’s coming around the boards, Jonathan plows into him, digging for the puck aggressively. He yanks at his stick, the blade flying up sharply, slashing Tristan straight across his face. Grabbing his face in pain, Tristan drops to the ice, the whistle blowing almost instantly. Pulling his glove back slightly, Tristan winces as he sees the blood dripping from his face onto the ice. He pushes himself to his feet making his way slowly over towards the bench. The Scarlet trainer quickly makes his way over with a towel, meeting him halfway,  applying pressure to the cut. Tristan skates the rest of the way off the ice, and is immediately taken down the tunnel for an evaluation.

 

“Holy Fuck.” Faith jumps out of her seat, sending her carrots flying as she leans over the ledge.

 

“Tristan!” Shayna gasps seeing the blood trail. “Oh my god! Jesus! Fucking Jonathan!” she looks over at Faith. “I have to go see him… This is my fault” her eyes start to water.

 

“Shay this is NOT your fault...This is Jonathan being a dickbag. Go check on Deni...Text me if you need me.” Faith rubs her arm gently. “He’ll be okay. Probably looks worse than it really is.”

 

Shayna nods, standing up, “I’ll text you.” She sprints up the small set of stairs, across the suite and out to the hallway, running to the elevators. Punching the button for the event level, she bites at her finger nervously. The doors open to the white hallway, security standing at the door. Shayna waves around her ID not slowing down until she reaches the locker room, slamming into the large doors she runs through to the trainers’ room.

 

Tristan groans in pain, laid out on the trainer table, his hand white knuckled gripping the edge of the table as Patrick stitches his face. The white cuff of his jersey stained with blood drops.

 

“Look, Deni, I know this sucks, but stop squinting you’re making it worse.” Patrick scolds him, as he sutures the gash across the bridge of his nose and cheek.  

 

“Just fucking get on with it.” Tristan hollers, moaning in pain with each stitch. Shifting his gaze towards the doorway he sees Shayna standing there helplessly, watching him suffer, her eyes wide, red with tears.  “Get out of here Shayna.”

 

“Tristan… I jus--” she pleads. “I’m just…”

 

“GET OUT.” he snaps through gritted teeth in obvious agony as the trainer continues stitching his face.

 

“Fuck your pride, Tristan. I’m staying here…” Shayna squares her shoulders taking a step into the room.

 

“Can’t you get her out of here?” Tristan looks at Patrick.

 

“Honestly, the two of you. Shayna, just stand on the other side of the door for like two seconds. I need to finish this and if you two keep doing… whatever the hell this is I’m going to stab his eye. Just do that for me?” Patrick turns nodding to the door.

 

Shayna sighs nodding. “Other side of the door.”

 

“Thank you. And you,” Patrick looks down at Tristan, “Stay still. Just a few more. It was a decent slash.”

 

Tristan grimaces again as Patrick finishes up with the stitches.

 

“Did you feel anything else when he hit you? Did your head fly back? I might have to do a quick concussion test.” Patrick cleans the dry blood from Tristan’s cheek. “I do have to give you a different jersey though, so take that off and give it to me.”

 

“No, my head feels fine,” Tristan nods pulling the jersey over his head, wincing as the material passes over his nose. He hands it to Patrick standing up from the table, catching a glance at Shayna on the other side of the doorway. “Shayna you know this is not a good time to do anything. I’m going back out there…”

 

“I know that. I just had to make sure you were ok,” Shayna twists her hands in front of her, briefly glancing up to catch his eyes. “I just, I couldn’t sit there after that. I’m sorry.”

 

Tristan sighs, his eyes soft as he leans down placing a kiss her on her forehead. “I love you, Shayna. I need to go…” he reaches out taking the jersey from Patrick’s hand carefully tossing it over his head, sliding his arms in. “Go watch the game.” He grabs his helmet from the chair outside the trainers’ room placing it on his head, securing the strap as he walks through the locker room back to the tunnel.

 

Shayna grabs a paper towel from the table, swiping at her eyes as she watches him walk out through the tunnel to the bench.

 

“Probably should go upstairs…” Patrick calls out grabbing Tristan’s stick from the doorway.

 

“Yeah,” Shayna turns back to the main door heading out to the hallway towards the elevators. “Sorry about that guys…” she nods to the security guards sitting at the small desk as she pushes the call for the elevator. The doors open, Shayna steps in pressing the button for the suite level. She looks at her reflection in the metal doors grimacing slightly at her face, mascara lines on her cheeks, her eyeliner smeared. Shaking her head she walks out to the suite. “I’m back,” she announces taking a bottle of water as she walks back to her seat.

 

Faith looks up, her mouth half full of popcorn, “Hofs debi?” She mumbles chewing her mouthful.

 

“Same old grumpy pants. He had a decent gash across his face though, definitely ten stitches. He tried to make me leave, I wouldn’t. He switched jerseys, told me he loves me and went out to the game.” Shayna shrugs dropping to her chair looking over the glass railing at the ice.

 

“He loves you, Shayna.” Faith smiles, “He’s at work right now, and you two will figure it out tonight...Don’t over think it right now… He loves you. He told you he loves you. That’s what’s important.”

 

Shayna smiles “I know.” she sighs sitting back in her chair. “We’ll see.”

 

“Bubbles says Uncle Deni’s being stupid...Bubbles don’t say stupid” Faith scolds her belly looking down at it.

 

“Bubbles is right though. He is being stupid. Ughhh, I’m getting ice cream,” Shanya stands, heading up the steps. “I also have to clean my face real quick.”

 

Faith nods, “Bubbles says Vanilla...with extra sprinkles….and Bubbles says you look beautiful, your face is fine.” She nudges her leg with a smile.

 

“Extra sprinkles it is!” Shayna smiles back.

 

*******

 

Tristan unlocks the door to Shayna’s apartment quietly, slipping in the door, placing his bag on the floor. He listens for a second for any movement in the apartment. A few seconds go by, the only sound from the TV on in the living room. He toes off his dress shoes, neatly placing them against the wall. Unbuttoning his suit jacket, he walks into the living room area, the TV casting a soft glow in the dark room. He looks around noting the lump of knit blanket on the lounge of the sectional couch. He tosses his jacket on the barstool, placing his keys in their normal spot on the countertop, turning to the back of the couch looking over.

 

Shayna is silently snoring, fast asleep wrapped up in a dark purple knit blanket she normally keeps draped over the couch. Tristan smiles as he makes his way around passing the couch for the bedroom, quickly unbuttoning his shirt tossing it to the armchair as he enters. He turns on the light and steps in the closet to his area Shayna sorted out for him grabbing a pair of of shorts off the shelf as he undoes his belt and zipper stepping out of his suit pants, neatly hanging them on the rack.

 

He switches off the light, stepping to the bed pulling back the comforter, tossing the decorative pillows to the basket on the other side. Strolling back out to the living room, he slides past the coffee table, taking a seat next to Shayna’s sleeping form. He takes a deep breath as he looks down at her, gently pushing a stray piece of hair back to her messy ponytail. Her glasses sit crookedly on her nose, smushed against the pillow and her head. She has smudges of black from her mascara which looks to have left marks down her cheeks from crying.

 

Tristan sighs, running his hand along her cheek. She stirs, rubbing her face against his hand with a content sigh as her eyes flutter open, focusing on him sitting in front of her.

 

“Tristan?” Shayna rolls back off her side, leaning back to look at him. “What are you doing here? Oh my god, your face…” She sits up, sliding up the couch to get closer to him, her fingers going to reach out to his face stopping just short of his cheek as she winces pulling her hand back. She frowns at him, “I’m sorry for this… it’s my fault.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Shayna. It’s not your fault he’s a fucking psychopath. Jealousy is a disgusting thing on people and that’s all it is. He’s jealous that he can’t have you. I’m sorry for storming out of here yesterday. It all just hit me and I was honestly nervous. Just seeing that someone else you had a relationship saying you can’t commit was just scary. I’m guilty of it just as much as you because I haven’t had a stable relationship either in my past. Then the whole thing with Ryan, that just threw me for a loop. I thought maybe you were hiding something.”

 

“I would never hide something from you. You should know that anything you ever asked me, I’d be one hundred percent completely honest with you,” Shayna rubs her eyes. “Anything. Tristan, I told you I loved you. That more than anything means the absolute most to me. I think that’s what pissed Jonathan off the most, he didn’t get that from me… but you did. I love you Tristan Deniau, as I have said before… with all my heart” she puts her hand on his chest. “Honestly.”

 

Tristan smiles, a blush creeping up across his cheeks. “I love you too, Shayna,” he smiles leaning over placing a kiss on her forehead with a wince. “Fuck… these stitches…”

 

“You look hot with those stitches, if that counts for anything…” Shayna bites her lip smirking at him as she runs her finger along his cheek careful not to touch the stitches.

 

“You would…” Tristan shakes his head chuckling.

 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do while you guys are gone. I wish I could be there for the game especially because of the situation. I know he’s not going to shut his mouth at all. I just don’t want you to get hurt any more because he’s a fuckface,” Shayna sighs.

 

“I’ll be fine Shay. I’ll knock the shit out of him if he even attempts to come at me,” Tristan rolls his eyes.

 

Shayna takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I know you can obviously stand up for yourself, just please, be careful. I’ll be here… dying on the couch watching.”

 

“We’ll talk of course…” Tristan frowns. “It won’t be long. It’s really just the flight that takes the longest. We usually chat though during that… It’ll be ok.”

 

“Do you want ice for that? Looks like it hurts like a bitch…” Shayna makes a disgusted face at him. “Probably should ice it before bed. We can watch a little TV while you ice it,” she jumps up off the couch running to the kitchen. Digging around she pulls out a ziploc bag and a small dish towel from the drawer and dumps a ton of ice from the machine on the fridge door. She seals the bag as she walks back into the living room to the back of the couch where Tristan is sitting.

 

“Here you go,” Shayna proudly holds out the towel wrapped bag to him as she wraps her arm around his shoulders, kissing the side of his head. “If you don’t want to use the towel, it’s fine. You’re not supposed to put the ice directly on skin. I can grab a paper towel so it doesn’t catch on the stitches.”

 

“It’s fine, this is fine. Thank you, baby.” Tristan leans his head against her arm.

 

Shayna nods hopping over the back of the couch settling in next to him as she pulls the blanket to them. “Property Brothers is on,” she giggles.

 

“Is that all you ever watch?” Tristan raises his eyebrow at her.

 

“Maybe… sometimes. Oh and DanceMoms. Speaking of, we can watch that. I missed the other day due to the game.”

 

“That sounds all sorts of horrible,” he adjusts the ice pack on his cheek.

 

Shayna narrows her eyes as she glares at Tristan, “You have a better suggestion, grouchy pants?”

  
  


*******

 

Shayna rolls over reaching out to her left finding emptiness in the space next to her in bed. She checks the alarm clock on the nightstand noting the time realizing that Tristan must have left already to pack up his stuff to head to the arena for practice and to leave for Toronto. Sighing, she grabs his pillow from his side of the bed pulling under her, rubbing her face into the cotton material inhaling Tristan’s scent from the pillow.

 

“I haven’t even left yet and you’re cuddling with the pillow?” Tristan muses standing at the foot of the bed.

 

Shayna lifts her head over the comforter, her eyes blurry with sleep catching a glance of him,  “I thought you left already.” She smirks settling back down into the pillow.

 

“Nope, took a shower. I brought my bag so this way I could spend a little more time here since you aren’t coming with us,” Tristan pouts walking around the bed. “But I see my pillow makes a better companion I guess.”

 

“Who said that? I just missed you already,” Shayna smiles looking up at Tristan at the side of the bed clad in only a fluffy dark purple towel slung low on his waist, hands on his hips. “Oh, yup, still here. What time do you need to leave at?”

 

“We have practice at noon so I need to be there at 11,” Tristan smiles grabbing the corner of the pillow, pulling it from Shayna’s grip, placing it back in it’s place. “I think we leave at like 3?”

 

Shayna yawns rubbing her eyes “That’s not bad. Good, so come back to bed then because I’m going to miss you for the next 48 hours. I’m really sad I’m not going with you guys. Stupid suspension.”

 

“I’ve gotten so used to you being on trips now I don’t know what I’m going to do. Actually sleeping by myself with Gavin in the room…” Tristan frowns. “What can we do about that?”

 

“You know I’m not allowed to go, so no, I can’t just sneak on the plane. Faith already tried that. She even begged to JP… no luck.” Shayna mutters pulling Tristan’s pillow down to her head.

 

Tristan nods, unknotting the towel at his waist, tossing it at Shayna as he slides under the comforter next to her.

 

“Oh come on… it’s damp!” Shayna whines throwing the towel off the side of the bed to the floor behind her. “Hey there,” she smiles as she rolls to her back, her legs wrapping around Tristan’s waist as he lifts himself over her. She looks up at him with a pout, his muscular arms framing her shoulders. “What am I going to do with myself while you guys are gone?”

 

Tristan smirks leaning down to place soft kisses on Shayna’s neck. “I don’t know, we might have to Facetime,” he replies gently sucking on her collarbone. “Maybe I can talk Faith into getting me a single room for the night so we can talk.”

 

“I suppose that’s a possibility…” Shayna rolls her hips upward, gently rubbing herself against Tristan’s erect cock. “We’ll have to talk about that later though.”

 

Tristan moans into her neck at the contact, biting her a little harder. “Lose the clothes…” he murmurs into her skin, pushing her t-shirt up. She nods at him pushing at his chest leaning up as he grabs her shirt pulling it over her head in a haste, tossing it to the floor. He leans in again pressing a kiss to her lips. Shayna catches his bottom lip with a quick nip, gently sucking it with a loud pop as she releases, smiling up at him. Tristan chuckles pushing himself upright to his knees, grabbing her ankles from behind him as he pushes her legs up in front of him, resting them on his chest.

 

“Oooh, getting fancy I see?” Shayna giggles as she wiggles her hips around on his thighs.

 

He turns her to her side slightly giving her a slap on her ass with a grin, “Stop moving.” Tristan curls his fingers into the waistband of her shorts and underwear, pulling the material up her legs in one swift motion, tossing them somewhere behind him. “Stay there…” he slides to his right to the side of the bed reaching out to the side table pulling the drawer open grabbing a condom. Ripping the packet open, he drops the foil to the floor, pulling the latex down his length. He slides back to Shayna picking her legs back up to his chest as he lines himself up, gently pulling her to him and inserting himself.

 

“Ughh… Deni, fuck…” Shayna moans as Tristan settles in deep and flush against her.

 

Tristan holds her legs tightly against him as he rocks his hips, pulling out slowly teasing her.

 

“I know you have til 11, but I swear to god,” Shayna whines grabbing the metal bars of the headboard behind her head as she shifts her hips.

 

“If you’re going to be bad…” Tristan smirks as he leans forward over her, sliding her legs to his left side. He reaches past her head reaching down pulling a tie from around the bar directly behind her head.

 

“Yes,” Shayna breathes heavy, holding her wrists up in surrender. “Yes, please.”

 

Tristan smiles nudging her up closer to the headboard, wrapping the tie around the bar as he  takes her right wrist securing it with the tie. He repeats the process with her left wrist. Grabbing both of them he pulls them forward  looking down at her to make sure they weren’t tight. Shayna nods with a smirk. Satisfied with his handy work, he leans down dropping his mouth to hers aggressively, his tongue swiping at her lower lip.

 

“Would you watch your stit---” Shayna breaks their kiss trying to warn him only to be silenced by the hard thrust of his hips. “Ugh, sweet Jesus…” she moans pulling on tie around her bound hands.

 

He smirks looking down at her, his hands supporting his weight over her on the sides of her body. “I know about my stitches, Shayna. I’m fine,” he breathes just inches from her face, his accent thick with each word. Tristan pushes his upper body up taking some of his weight off of her as he reaches for her legs folding them up against her lower stomach. With one hand on her thigh, he reaches out grabbing the tie around her hands pulling the two thin pieces of material together in his hand for extra leverage as he starts his pace up, sliding in and out of her.

 

“Deni…..” Shayna whines below him, her hands balling into fists as she takes each of his thrusts.

 

“God Shayna, you look so good tied up like that,” Tristan growls, his fingers digging into her thigh as his pace picks up. He pulls at the tie harder, the metal of the headboard creaking from above them as he gets frantic with his movements.

 

Shanya looks up at her hands, the tie tied around them, soft black material pulled tight in Tristan’s hand. She looks back down at Tristan, his face a slight shade of pink as his cheeks puff in and out in time with his hips. “I need to move my leg.”

 

Tristan nods at her, his fingers letting go of her, scooping under her thigh to slide her leg across his front to the other side of his body. He smiles at her slowing himself to let her get adjusted. “You better now?” he pants, his head reaching up to push a stray piece of hair from her face.

 

Shayna nods lifting her lower half up slightly as she hooks her feet on the backs of his thighs. “Bring it…” she grins pulling on her restraints above her head.

 

“You asked for it…” Tristan leans down placing a quick but heavy kiss on her lips, his hips pulling back almost completely out, his feet digging into the mattress below him.

 

He slams in to her hard causing her to cry out, “Dennniiii! Yesssss, ughh!”

 

Tristan continues on harder and faster with each thrust, “Shayna... “ he moans as he pulls at the tie, pushing her further up the mattress. “I’m… are you?”

 

Shayna whines with a nod of her head, her orgasm hitting hard as he pushes a few more times. He pulls one more time at the tie harder than before as his release hits, the metal of the bed squeaking loudly as the bar cracks off the main part of the headboard narrowly missing Shayna’s head.

 

Tristan falls back, the tie in his hand, Shayna lunging forward, the metal bar sliding from the black tie on to the mattress. “Holy shit!” he yells out reaching out to grab the piece of metal. “It came clean off.”

 

“I think… you just… broke my bed,” Shayna pants as she leans to the side of Tristan trying to regain her breath.

 

“I can’t believe that,” Tristan laughs letting Shayna slide to his side, her legs releasing him. He rolls off the side of the bed, the metal bar still in his one hand as he runs his other along the headboard. “Yeah, this is totally broken. My bad…”

 

Shayna glares at him from the pillow “Good job. By the way,” she holds her hands up to him.

 

“Oh yeah,” Tristan laughs looking at her hands with a smirk before turning and walking out of the room. “I’ll be back!”

 

“What the hell! Come on!” Shayna whines, her fingers digging at the tie. “Are these like super boy scout knots? Tristan!”

 

Two minutes later Tristan returns to the room clad in a pair of black boxers, an envelope in one hand, a water bottle in the other that he sips from.

 

“Oh just getting refreshments are we?” Shayna pouts curled up on her side, the comforter wrapped around her body, her still tied hands just peeking out from the grey cover.

 

“Yup,” he strides to the bed placing the bottle and envelope on the nightstand as he takes a seat next to her, his hands reaching for the black material still around her small wrists, untangling it. “I wasn’t in the boy scouts. They’re just, I don’t know? Sex knots? What can I say?” he smirks kissing each of her wrists.

 

“Thank god,” Shayna pulls her hands back to her, gently rubbing the red marks on her skin.

 

“So this is for you,” Tristan hands her the envelope. “I’m gonna get dressed so I’m not late.” He leans down kissing her forehead softly as she takes the paper from him.

 

“What’s this?” Shayna asks sitting up, watching as he slides on a pair of track pants.

 

“Just a little I’m sorry.”

 

“For the bed? Already? Calm down, I’ll figure out something. I did need a new one. I guess while you guys are away I’ll take a trip to Ikea or something,” Shayna rips at the envelope. She pulls out the contents, unfolding it. “Sea-Tac? United Airlines… TORONTO?” she squeals looking at him, her mouth slightly agape. “Are you serious?”

 

“Do you think I’d go to Toronto without you?” Tristan smirks tossing his grey Scarlet performance tee over his head. “I need you there when I beat the shit out of Jonathan.”

 

“Tristan…”

 

“Ok, fine. I need you there for when the team wins and I can rub it in his face,” he gives her a sweet smile as he bats his eyelashes at her. “Also, Faith doesn’t know. I figured it would be a nice surprise for her for you to show up.” He leans down to zip up his bag, tossing it to the bed. “I have to go, your flight is at 2 which means you should show up in Toronto at like 8? There will be a car to pick you up at the airport and bring you to our hotel. Try to be low key. Also there will be a car here in like a half hour, 45 minutes.”

 

“Oh Jesus,” Shayna jumps from the bed. “I need to pack!”

 

Tristan laughs watching her scramble into the closet tossing her robe on. He follows her in, grabbing her by the waist. “Safe flight, I’ll see you when you get in.” Turning her around he leans down, mouth crashing to hers as his fingers run through her hair. A few seconds later they break apart. “Love you.”

 

“Love you too!” Shayna sighs as he lets go, turing back out the door.

 

********

 

Faith sits typing away on her laptop at a small table in the lobby of the hotel with a cup of hot tea, looking out the glass windows at the snow falling outside. A ticketing issue at the arena was causing some problems for the players with family coming in for the game, and of course with Shayna back in Seattle, Faith was stuck taking care of things.

 

“I heard there was ticket problems? I hope you got my request. It’s important that I get my ticket,” Tristan slides into the open seat across from Faith, taking a sip from his coffee cup.

 

Faith looks up at him over the top of her glasses, clearly stressed out. “Get in line, Deni…” she sighs looking back down at the screen. “This is a fucking nightmare.”

 

“Well, that ticket might solve your problems,” he grins, warming his hands on his cup.

 

“Deni, unless your ticket produces 37 other tickets for Anders, Jiri, Gavs and London...OH and JP’s family, then, no. It doesn’t solve my problems.” Faith looked around the lobby, “OR unless it produces a donut, and maybe a tuna sandwich.”

 

“Well not a tuna sandwich, but I mean if that’s what you really want,” he chuckles. “Just please, make sure I get one. I appreciate it. Be right back.” Tristan stands up from the chair.

 

Faith nods, “Ill get your ticket, Deni, .don’t worry!” she goes back to her computer, clicking around the Toronto ticketing site, trying to block out open seats. “Fucking Toronto and their fucking popular douchebag hockey fucking team,” Faith mutters banging on the keyboard.

 

London walks past Faith, stopping short to sit in the chair across from her. “Faith! Oh good, have you seen Evie? She was supposed to meet me, I have to have her see my family. Have you sorted the tickets?”

 

“LONDON.” Faith huffs from her screen, “Does it look like I’ve sorted it out?” She stares at him with narrow eyes. “When I get the tickets sorted out, you’ll be on my list of texts.”

 

London winces, “Sorry, sorry Faith. That’s fine. Whenever. Take your time.” He stands up from the chair walking towards the main lobby area.

 

Faith drops her head to her hands, running her hands through her hair. “I can’t fucking! I can’t…” She whines on the verge of tears.

 

The table shakes lightly as Tristan sits down again across from Faith. “I told you I would come back.”

 

Faith rubs her temples, not looking up. “Tristan, for fucks sake. Can you just, please. Stop.”

 

“Well I mean, I’ll just eat this donut too then,” Shayna smiles taking a bite of the donut in her hand, dropping the plate in her other hand on the table.

 

Faith’s head shoots up with a gasp. “OH MY GOD,” Faith bolts out of her chair giving Shayna a big hug.

 

“Hey there booboo!” Shayna hugs Faith back, holding out her sugar coated hand from Faith’s silk blouse.

 

“I told you that ticket would solve your problems.” Tristan smirks sitting back in his chair folding his hands on his lap.

 

“Don’t be a shit, Tristan.” Faith shakes her head at him. “Did you really bring me a donut?” Her eyes lit up, while staring at the plate salivating.

 

Tristan reaches forward pushing the plate back, “No it’s for….” he looks at Shayna rolling his eyes “Bubbles. There. I said it.”

 

Shayna cracks up laughing, “God, was that so hard? Don’t you roll your eyes at my godchild. It’s ok Bubs, Auntie Shay will take care of you.”

 

Faith giggles, snatching the donut from the plate, taking a big bite. “Bubbles says thank you!” She grins, her mouth full of white powder.

 

“So, ticketing problems? Did you call Matt at the front office? He’s the go to person for any additional issues. I heard JP rolled up with a shit ton of people. I saw them all milling about this morning…” Shayna props her elbows on the table leaning forward.

 

Faith nods, “I’ve called everyone on the list. The ticketing site is slow as hell, no one is returning my calls.between the players and JP, I need 38 tickets, for a sold out arena, in Toronto for a rivalry game.” She whines, clearly stressed out.

 

“Not possible. The team is supposed to allocate a certain amount of away team tickets. Once it’s confirmed how many aren’t needed they to go GA. If no one answers then call the league. It’s a contractual obligation. Just… hold….” Shayna pulls her phone out clicking around, placing it to her ear. “Yeah, hi this is Shayna Cavalcante with the Scarlet. Yeah, get me to someone for ticketing. I would say Matt, but whoever you got.” She pauses, looking over at Tristan with a smile. “Yes, hey, it’s Shayna with the Scarlet. What the hell is going on with our tickets? How come our calls are going unanswered? Yeah I’m not technically working but that doesn’t mean we can go unaddressed. I need… 38 tickets for our section. Good. Box office is fine. Thanks.” Shayna disconnects the phone call. “Boom. You’re welcome.”

 

Faith looks up at her then to Tristan, then back to Shayna, her jaw hanging open. “Oh my god, I don’t know which of you to hug first. Wait, HOW ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!”

 

“You can thank Tristan for this. He got me a flight out after you guys left and I’m staying here. He said I couldn’t miss a game regardless of a suspension. Suck it JP! Although as a slap in the face to him I should hold his tickets ransom so I can get in the suite with you.” Shayna laughs with a smirk.

 

“Oh, I’ll get you in the suite, Shay, that's no problem!” Faith takes another bite of her donut, “Thank god you’re here, seriously. I can’t do all this myself, I’m so freaking tired, and nothing is working right!”

 

Tristan snatches the rest of Shayna’s donut from her hand, “You’re welcome,” he smiles as stuffs the sugary dough in his mouth.

 

“Thanks, Deni.” Faith leans across the table wrapping her arms around him. “You’re the 3rd best.”

 

“3rd best? Jeez, fine,” he pouts.

 

“Deniiii.” Faith frowns. “I can’t make you any higher than 3rd. Ollie and Shayna take the first and second spots. I’m sorry, but if you think about this in the non-family sense, you’re technically number one?” She makes a face trying to rationalize things.

 

Tristan shakes his head, “Right, gotcha. I’ll just take her back upstairs now,” he grabs at Shayna’s arm.

 

“But, but!” Faith pouts, “WAIT a minute.! What do you mean ‘back upstairs?’ How long have you been here?” She turns to Shayna.

 

“Since… last night,” Shayna blushes looking down at the plate in front of her, pressing her fingers into the powdered sugar.

 

“WHAT?!” Faith scoffs. “You were here all night and didn’t tell us?”

 

Shayna smirks licking the powder off her finger. “Well, I mean… I woke up yesterday to a card with a ticket for a flight that was mere hours from when I got it. I had to pack quick, go to Sea-Tac, fly here… properly thank my overly generous boyfriend.”

 

“All night?” Faith raises her eyebrow in amusement. “Wow Deni, nice move with the flight. Good work.” She holds her hand up for a fist-bump.

 

“So you could imagine, a proper thank you…” Shayna smiles leaning into Tristan’s side as he wraps an arm around her.

 

“Although I’m displeased I received no text, phone call, or visit… I suppose I can forgive you.” Faith smiles sitting back in her chair. “It’s not even 11am, and I just want to go sleep.” she pouts, “Is it August yet?”

 

Shayna pouts, “Is there anything else I can do? Where is Everly? She’s supposed to be helping.”

 

“Last I saw Evie was upstairs with London, but London was just down here? So I’m assuming she’s still sleeping” Faith shrugs. “Shes still new, it wouldn’t be much help to me right now. She was awesome last night though with check-in.” she flips the lid of the laptop closed, sticking it back into her bag. “Do you think I can take a nap before we go to the arena? Or should I just get up and move around until we leave?”

 

“Just go take a nap. I’ll keep an eye out. It’ll be fine.” Shayna smiles.

 

“Thanks, Shay.” Faith smiles, standing from her chair. “2123. Come wake me up in like. 7 months?”

  
  


*********

 

The Scarlet players dart out the tunnel onto the ice for pre-game warmups, the boys skating quickly down the ice towards the goal. Tristan’s helmet is equipped with a large clear visor coming down, covering part of his face to protect his remaining stitches.

 

Oliver picks up a puck on his way around the ice, snapping it towards the goal, smacking his stick as it sails wide of the net.

 

Gavin smirks, picking up his rebound, “It’s an open net, Moreno. Glad the goalie made that save…”

 

Tristan laughs skating past the two of them picking up a puck along the way at the blue line slapping it from the hash marks into the net. “That’s how you do it Olls.”

 

Oliver shook his head skating behind the goal to collect another puck, skating up towards the point, he cuts in, shooting the puck off the pipe. He drops his head with a disappointed shake. “I don’t even want to hear it…”

 

Kopecky smacks his shin pads with a smirk. “Thanks for making me look good!”

 

Tristan waits for Kopecky to skate by as he drops back to Oliver, “Come on man, just think of what, please don’t make me say it, would think.” He nods raising his eyebrows. “I’ve gotta have stories to tell here.”

 

Oliver nods his head with a sigh, “I know man, I’m trying.. I just can’t fuckin focus.” He pokes the puck out from behind the goal stuffing it in front of the goal, as it slides off the end of his stick. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

 

“Told you!” Tristan smirks as he skates off to the blue line to start his stretches.

 

“Nice stitches, Deniau. Your nose job looks great.” Jonathan skates past with a smirk taking off towards the goal.

 

Tristan takes a deep breath as he looks up to the suite spotting Shayna and Faith watching down at the ice. Shayna’s hands waving as she talks quickly, looking irritated.

 

Jonathan sends a puck up ice from where he was running drills, the puck sliding into Tristan as he stretches.

 

“So he’s gonna start this shit again?” Gavin skates up next to Tristan as he waits his turn for his next drill. “What a fucking douchebag.”

 

Tristan looks up at him as he gets up from his stretch. “I’m going to try to ignore it for long as possible because I promised Shayna I wouldn’t kill him. UNLESS he comes at me. Then all bets are off and she knows that,” he watches Jonathan skate around, smug smirk on his face as he skates past the blue line.

 

Oliver skates past, stick handling a loose puck. “I’ll take him Deni, just send him my way, I’ll beat the shit outta him.”

 

“I’ll lay his ass out before it even gets to that,” Tristan laughs grabbing a puck from the boards.

 

“Offer still stands,” Oliver shrugs, taking off down the ice, fanning on his slap shot.

 

“Thanks Olls, I appreciate it, but this is my problem,” Tristan nods skating down the ice to the net, sending his shot wide off the glass.

 

“Put that shit on net, Deni. At least one of us has to score tonight.” Oliver mumbles, clearing the blade of his stick. “And god knows it won't be me.”

 

Tristan chuckles, as he works the puck back and forth with his stick, “Uh-oh, trouble in paradise?”

 

Oliver shook his head, “Nah theres no trouble. It’s just been a long time.” He chips the puck from his stick towards the goal. “Faith’s been pretty reserved.” He looks around to make sure no one was near them. “She’s scared it’ll hurt the baby. So she won’t let me near her until after her appointment with the doctor.” He slaps a puck towards the goal, a loud thud as it slams into the boards, “...in January.”

 

“JANUARY?” Tristan's eyes go wide as he shakes his head, “that’s rough, man.”

 

Oliver nods looking up towards where the girls sit in the suites, “I am slowly dying, Tristan. One painful, unsatisfying day at a time.”

 

“I dont even know what to tell you man. That’s uncharted territory for us.” Tristan smirks, passing the puck to himself off the boards.

  
  


*********

  
  
  


Faith shakes her head “Fifty bucks Deni pops Jon square in the balls within the next 10 minutes. He's being such a dickbag.”

 

“He’s been on him all night, even since warm ups. I can’t stand it. I don’t get it it either honestly. What the fuck is his problem? I’m not his fuck toy and all of a sudden he’s just this huge fucking douchecanoe.” Shayna scoffs watching the ice intently. “If they fight, I’m going to lose it. Tristan doesn’t need to be hit in the face again.”

 

Faith’s eyes go wide watching Jonathan skate into the Scarlet zone throwing a hip check on Gavin, sending him flying into the boards. “Holy... Jesus Christ.” Faith stood up to see if Gavin was ok.

 

Tristan skates over giving Jonathan a shove. “The fuck was that!?”

 

“Oh for the love of god,” Shayna stands up from her seat, her hands going to her mouth. “Tristan… be careful!”

 

Jonathan shoves Tristan back with two hands, “Get the fuck out Deniau or I’ll give you a matching cut.”

 

“Oh boo hoo,” Tristan shoves his hands off. “You talk a big game but I think you’re full of shit..” He skates up in his face. “Nothing to say now, hotshot?”

 

Jonathan smirks at him slapping the visor on his helmet, “Go fuck yourself.”

 

“No need, my girlfriend takes care of that for me.” Tristan shakes his gloves at him, “You wanna go, Reilly? Or are you gonna be a little bitch and harass Shay some more?”

 

“How’s my sloppy seconds feel? She’s just something I like to hit up while in town,” Jonathan nods, shoving at Tristan before dropping his gloves to the ice.

 

Tristan throws his gloves to the ice, his hands clenched into fits as he throws a heated right uppercut straight into Jonathan’s jaw. “Fuck you.”

 

Jonathan throws his arms up grabbing the shoulder of Tristan's jersey, shoving him repeatedly.

 

"Annnd here they go" Faith gapes watching the pair dance on the ice. She yells through cupped hands, cheering for Tristan.  "COME ON, DENI!!"

 

"Holy fuck... I can't watch... I can't watch!" Shayna screams, her hands on her head as she focuses on the ice. "For fucks sake, COME ON DENI!"

 

Tristan extends his left arm holding Jonathan back from him as he swings with his right. “You’re such a piece of shit,” Tristan grunts delivering blow after blow.

 

Jonathan shoves back against Tristan’s body and connects with the side of his helmet sending it flying from his head, the black plastic sliding across the ice. “She’ll never love you. She’s just a puck slut”

 

Tristan yanks on Jonathan's jersey, spinning him sideways as he throws a hard right hook, “FUCK YOU.” Tristan lands his punch square in the face, causing Jonathan to lose his balance and fall to the ice, pulling Tristan down ontop of him.

 

"You stay the fuck away from her. If you even THINK about texting her again, I won't ever let you live that down." Tristan punches him again in the head as the refs intervene to separate the two.

 

"JESUS CHRIST FUCK.... FUCK..... TRISTAN BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM!" Shayna moans dropping to the chair watching as Tristan and Jonathan make their way to the penalty boxes. "Single handedly the most stressful fight I've ever watched. I can't deal with this.... But fuck that was so hot!" she drops her head back on the seat.

 

"You would find that hot,” Faith shakes her head at Shayna, picking her plate up from the small table between the leather seats. “I’m so proud of Deni, he totally rocked him.”

 

"He stood up for me, or at least I assume that's what that was about," Shayna sighs running her hand through her hair. "Faith, I love him so much. That was out of control." 

 

****** 

 

Shayna waits in the lobby of the hotel as the team files off the bus. 

 

"Lover boy is on his way off the bus," Faith grins walking across to Shayna. "Bubs and I are going to bed. Well maybe not before a little snack. What time is your flight tomorrow?" 

 

"Nine. Thanks Deni for the early wake up," Shayna laughs. "Enjoy your snack. I'll probably see you when I get home." 

 

"Make sure you take proper care of him!" Faith wiggles her fingers at her. "Goodnight!" 

 

"Goodnight," Shayna smiles as Faith walks off to the elevators. She sits back on the small couch watching the doors intensely.  A few of the guys walk through giving her a nod or a wave as they pass by. 

 

Tristan walks through the automatic doors with Gavin at his side, a smile on his face as they chat. He looks up noticing Shayna siting on the couch in front of them, his smile spreading wider. 

 

Shayna jumps from the couch sprinting to him, throwing her arms around him. 

 

"What no hug for me?" Gavin pouts looking at them with a hand on his hip, his carry bag on his shoulder. 

 

"Hey there," Tristan grins, pulling her closer to him. 

 

"That was the most out of control, absolutely insane, most stressful hockey fight I have ever watched in my life," Shayna sighs as she squeezes him. 

 

"Deni rocked the shit out of him! I'm even proud!" Gavin laughs.

 

"I am so proud," Shayna smiles letting go of Tristan slightly. 

 

Tristan leans down kissing her forehead with a small smile, "Thank you. We can talk about it upstairs. I need to lay down." 

 

The three of them walk to the elevators, Gavin reaching out to hit the call button. "I assume you'll be occupying Shayna's room again?" he looks over at them. "Good. Make sure you take care of my boy, Shayna." 

 

"You're ridiculous, Gavin." Shayna laughs as they step on to the elevator. "As if that was even a question." 

 

"I am standing right here," Tristan points at himself, looking at the both of them. 

 

"Just making sure," Gavin smiles as the elevator doors open and he steps out. "Have a good night! See you in the morning, Deni." 

 

The doors close softly, the car rises to a higher floor with a quiet sound of humming. 

 

"I really am proud," Shayna smiles glancing over at Tristan. The elevator chimes their floor, the doors opening again for them to step out. 

 

Tristan takes Shayna's hand as they walk down the hallway to her room.  "I haven't fought since juniors. It was crazy. I just wasn't going to let him keep going on. The shit he said..." Tristan sighs rubbing his face as he watches Shayna unlock the door to the room. "Just disgusting. I assume he never thought you were friends the way he was saying these things. I would stand up for you a million times over, Shayna. You don't deserve what he was saying. You're not like that at all." 

 

"He was just mad that I'm extremely happy," Shayna drops her wallet and phone on the desk as she kicks her sneakers off. "Thank you for everything though. I love you so much," she turns to him, sliding her hands under his suit jacket around his back, her face pressing against his chest. 

 

"I love you too, Shayna," Tristan smiles wrapping his arms around her holding her tight to him. 


	23. All I want for Christmas.... is a trip to Montreal....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time! Holidays mean more family members! Shayna's off to Montreal to meet the Deniau family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is not a song... well I mean it sorta is? I just added in the "trip to Montreal" but that's true. I want a trip to Montreal to a certain person's place but a girl could only ask Santa for so much. 
> 
> I wish I could have written some sweet Quebecois French but I don't speak it and I don't know anyone but the real 'Tristan' who speaks it and OBVIOUSLY I can't ask him so.... 
> 
> I noticed a jump in views from the last chapters. I can't tell you how appreciative we are of this. Honestly, it means a lot that people are reading this. WE HAVE AN AUDIENCE! So hello to you, the person reading this and thank you for reading. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always great! :) <3

Shayna looks out the large window out at the airplanes taxing on the tarmac. She bites on her thumbnail deep in thought as she watches out in the darkness of the morning. A large paper cup comes into her view in front of her, a tea bag string hanging out of the side, breaking her thoughts.

“Shay? Here…” Tristan sits down next to her in the row of connected chairs handing her the cup. “You ok? You seem out of it.”

“Yeah, I’m ok. Just it’s early…” she smiles, taking it into her hands, unfolding her legs out in front of her, taking a sip.

“I know you’re nervous about meeting my family. It’s going to be fine. If I can make it through meeting all nine hundred of your relatives, I think you’ll be fine meeting my little family.” he gives her a reassuring smile, softly patting her leg. “The plane should be boarding in about 15 minutes. Do you need anything?”

“Nope, I think I’m good. I have some magazines, a book and we have the iPad to watch those movies we wanted. Should be good. There’s also the possibility I’m going to pass out somewhere over the Dakotas or Minnesota…” she grins from behind her cup.

“Good. And your coat is accessible from your checked bag? It’s going to be pretty cold when we get there. I’m surprised you wore leggings. You’re going to be freezing. Maybe we can stop when we get into the city and get you gloves and such…” Tristan takes a sip from his cup as he scrolls through his phone.

“Well, gloves no. Those I don’t have. I do have a scarf though. Stole it from your closet when you were packing. A very nice brown Burberry one that looks cozy and smelled like you…” Shayna leans forward putting her cup on the floor as she pulls her large black Michael Kors tote on her lap digging around until she pulls the soft material out of her bag. “I figured I was going to need it.” she shrugs holding it out.

“I was looking for that last night! I thought maybe I left it at home in Montreal…” Tristan shakes his head with a laugh. “You can hang on to it I guess.”

“You can take it. I’ll just get one when we get there. I probably shouldn’t have taken it without asking,” Shayna holds the scarf out to him to take.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re not going to be used to the cold so, just hang on to it. You’ll need it,” he smiles.

A voice comes across the PA system announcing that their flight is now boarding for Montreal.

Tristan stands grabbing his carry on from under the chair he was just sitting on, throwing the strap over his shoulder. “Here we go,” he holds his hand out to Shayna.

Shayna nods picking up her cup and tote, sliding her arm through the handles. “Montreal here we come!”

********

“Shayna,” Tristan’s soft voice stirs Shayna from her dream. “Shay, the plane’s landed. We are taxiing to the terminal.”

“Mmmm, already?” Shayna yawns as she shifts in her seat.

“You passed out a while ago. About maybe 4 hours ago. I’m surprised you made it this long.” he leans forward grabbing the iPad, sliding it back into it’s case and back into Shayna’s tote. “My brother insisted he pick us up from here. I told him he didn’t have to but apparently it’s a big deal that I brought someone home for the holidays,” he rolls his eyes. “Sound familiar?”

Shayna laughs as she unhooks her seatbelt, taking her bag from Tristan. “At least it’s not just me then.”

“No… it’s not.” Tristan tries to stand in the small space of the plane, watching as the rows file out the door. “Marc should be waiting for us by baggage claim.”

“Cool.” Shayna slides out of the row holding her bag out in front of her as she makes her way down the aisle to the door of the plane, Tristan right behind her. They make their way into the busy terminal quickly. “Ok, so… signs in French. This is going to be awesome.”

“Good thing you have your very own translator,” Tristan grins as he slides his arm around her shoulders. “Claim is down the escalators to the right.” He leads her to her right to the escalator, stepping on to head to the lower level.

As they make it to the baggage claim area, Shayna looks up at the large board trying to figure out which carousel they need to be at when small child runs up to Tristan.

“Tree! Tree!” the small boy who looks around two years old with light shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes squeals running to him with his arms out.

“Greyson!” Tristan yells back as he bends down dropping his bag to the floor to catch the child in his arms. He hugs the boy tightly as he speaks to him in French at first as he stands up. “How’s my little buddy?”

“Da! Tree! Tree!” Greyson claps his hands as he turns in his arms.

“He just takes off… nearly scared the shit out of me,” a man who looks just like Tristan with lighter colored hair walks up to them, a sippy cup and toy car in his hand. “He screeched as he took off off the bench we were waiting at. All I heard was ‘TREE!’ and figured you guys walked down here. Hi, I’m Marc, Tristan’s brother…” he holds his hand out to Shayna. “You must be Shayna.”

“Yes, hi… it’s nice to meet you,” Shayna smiles shaking Marc’s hand.

“This is Greyson, my nephew,” Tristan moves closer to Shayna. “Greyson, say hello to Shayna,” he tickles the boy’s stomach.

Greyson giggles as he tries to push Tristan’s large fingers away. “No Tree… no!”

“You don’t want to say hi to Shayna?” he asks with a smile as he points to Shayna. “Go ahead, say hi.”

The boy looks at Shayna his blue eyes bright and curious. He shies away from her, curling up into Tristan’s shoulder with a smile.

“Hi Greyson…” Shayna waves with a warm smile.

“Oh so we’re gonna play shy now are we?” Marc laughs rubbing the boy’s back as he clings to Tristan. “He’ll warm up to you. Trust me, you’ll never get rid of him. GIve him a few minutes. Come on Grey, we have to get Tree’s stuff from the big machine.” he holds his arms out to collect the boy from Tristan.

“No! NOOOO!” Greyson grabs on to Tristan’s sweatshirt, clinging to him refusing Marc’s hands.

“It’s ok, just leave him. You can take my bag,” Tristan laughs sliding his bag with his foot over to Marc.

“Whatever you want to do. Have fun with the wiggle worm,” Marc smirks picking the bag up off of the floor as they walk to the baggage carousel. “It’s also about negative eight out, hope you brought your jackets.”

“Negative eight?” Shayna chokes out, her eyes wide as she stares at Marc in disbelief. “That cold? You serious?”

“That means it’s about 20 something…” Tristan looks over at her from behind Greyson. “Celsius, don’t forget.”

“Oh, I gotcha. Still, 20 something? Gross.” Shayna rolls her eyes as she watches for the luggage to come across the moving platform.  

Shayna pulls her bag from the belt as it slides by, Tristan’s not far behind. Shayna unzips her bag pulling out her coat, throwing it on as well as the scarf from her bag. Marc zips up Greyson’s coat for the brief two seconds he let go of Tristan to allow him to put his coat on.

They walk through the terminal to the parking garage, stopping at Marc’s SUV. He clicks the button on the remote opening the backdoor automatically as he holds his hands out to Greyson.

“Come on buddy, time to go in your chair so we can go home.” Marc takes him from Tristan with some hesitation from Greyson. “Tree is coming too. He’s going to sit next to you while we drive to Meme and Pepe’s house. Do you want to see Meme and Pepe?”

“Yeeeees!” Greyson giggles as he lets go of Tristan and grabs for Marc.

Marc takes him to the back seat, securing him into his chair as Tristan and Shayna load their bags into the back of the truck.

“He’s adorable…” Shayna smiles watching Marc strap him in.

“He really is,” Tristan nods as he shuts the door. “You don’t mind sitting up front so I can sit next to him so he won’t scream right?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Shayna steps to the front door, opening it as Tristan climbs in the backseat next to Greyson.

Marc pulls out of the parking deck making their way to the highway around the airport. “It just snowed, you’re lucky you didn’t run into on the way here.”

“I haven’t seen snow in a while, not since I was up in Vancouver seeing Danielle. We went tubing, it was a good time.” Shayna looks out the window at the passing scenery.

“You wanna go tubing? We can go. There’s a ski lodge not far from my parents,” Tristan slides up behind her chair, a huge grin on his face from excitement. “We should all go.”

“I can ask Aimee if she wants to go. Maybe we can bring Greyson for his first tubing adventure,” Marc nods in agreement.

“When we get in I’ll check for tickets and what times they’re open,” Tristan slides back in his seat. “Oh, we’ll have to go get you some snow clothes though, Shayna. I’d imagine you didn’t pack for that. Once we get in I’ll grab a car and we’ll go out.”

“I did not know tubing was on the agenda or else I would have, kinda forgot about the snow,” Shayna nods. “Whatever you wanna do.”

Marc pulls off the highway into a small suburb with large houses. He takes a few turns to a small cul-de-sac at the end of a long street pulling into the driveway of one of the houses on the right side.

“Meeeemee!” Greyson claps excitedly from his chair.

“My thoughts exactly, Greyson,” Tristan grins unhooking his harness letting him sit up in his chair. “Come on buddy…” he holds his arms out to Greyson as he slides out of the truck. Greyson climbs out of his seat and into Tristan’s arms.

Shayna smiles watching how well Tristan takes care of the small child.

“Here’s your bag Shayna,” Marc calls out from the back of the truck pulling Shayna out of her thoughts.

“Sorry, Marc,” Shayna hurries to the back of the truck accepting her luggage.

“He’s really good with Greyson,” Marc smirks nudging Shayna with his elbow. “Proper father material.”

“You’ve just met her like 30 minutes ago. Don’t scare her off,” Tristan looks around the back of the of the truck.

“Tree! In… Meme, now!” Greyson hits Tristan’s shoulder pointing to the door of the house.

“Greyson! Don’t be rude to Tree! We are going inside,” Marc sighs. “He’s been pretty handsy lately.”

Shayna laughs as she slings her bag over her shoulder as they walk up the driveway. “You could have at least taken your carry on, Tristan.”

“Carry bags? Come on Shayna, not Tristan Deniau of the Seattle Scarlet! Bags are below him.” Marc huffs pulling Tristan’s suitcase behind him. “Just let big brother do it…” he rolls his eyes as they walk in the front door.

“I’ve got Greyson!” Tristan smiles as he bounces Greyson as they walk inside.

“He can walk now you know…” Marc places the bags at the foot of the steps inside the front door, holding his hand out for Shayna’s. “Just leave them here.”

A woman’s voice calls out from down the hall speaking French.

“Meeeeemeee!” Greyson wiggles in Tristan’s arms. “Down! DOWWNNN!!!!”

Tristan leans down putting Greyson down as he takes off running down the hallway. “Alright then.”

“Tristan?” a short, curly, white haired woman with similar facial features as Tristan appears in the hallway, Greyson in her arms.

“Mom!” Tristan grins holding his arms out to her, walking to the end of the hall to hug her. They talk briefly before Tristan turns leading her to Shayna. “Mom, this is Shayna. Shayna this is my mom, Helene Deniau.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Deniau,” Shayna holds her hand out with a warm smile.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Shayna. I’ve heard so much about you from Tristan.” Helene shakes her hand, her accent thick with each word.

“Good things I hope,” Shayna blushes, taking her coat off.

“Of course, dear. Come, come…” Helene waves at them as she turns to head back down the hallway. “Come sit. Tristan, get Shayna something to drink. I’m sure it was a long flight.”

“Hi mom! I got them here safe. You’re welcome.” Marc yells out waving behind Shayna taking her coat and placing it on their suitcases. “Forgot I was here I guess...”

“I saw you Marc…” Helene laughs walking into the kitchen. She tickles Greyson with a smirk. “Your Da is trying to be funny because Tree is here… isn’t he? Silly Da.” She walks over to the attached den room putting Greyson down by his toys. “Meme just cleaned this all up, don’t get too crazy ok?”

Greyson looks up at her with a smile, “Mmmm.” he nods.

“Mom, where’s Lex?” Tristan looks around the room.

“Oh! She’s outside…” Helene pointed to the double doors. “I just put her out before you got here.”

Tristan excitedly grabs Shayna’s hand pulling her to the doors. “You have to meet my Lexi.” He walks to the doors opening the right side giving a whistle to the large backyard. A small mini collie pokes it head out from behind a snowpile on the patio, it’s ears straight up and alert. “LEXI!” Tristan calls, clapping his hands. The dog takes off around the pile running straight for the doorway in a hurry. “There’s my girl…” Tristan bends down catching the dog in his arms as he coos at her, petting her brown and white fur. “This is Lexi.” he turns to face Shayna, the dog licking at his face.

Shayna reaches out petting her head with a giggle. “She’s cute… however, that’s my job.”

“I’ll wash my face,” Tristan shakes his head with a snort. “You would say something like that.”

“Close the door, Tristan!” Helene calls out from the kitchen. “Greyson is sitting in there and it’s freezing out.”

“Ooh, yeah.” Tristan nods to Shayna who grabs the door pushing it closed. “Sorry!”

“Leexiiieeee!” Greyson calls out clapping his hands at the dog as Tristan puts her down. Lexi runs over to Greyson sniffing his face, giving him a lick before turning back to Tristan running over to him jumping up.

“She’s excited…” Tristan bends down petting her some more. “Come on... who wants a treat!” he stands talking to the dog walking into the kitchen to the pantry. Lexi runs next to Tristan as he opens the pantry door, barking happily. He steps inside grabbing the box of dog bones, tossing one out to Lexi and handing another to Shayna.

“Oh gee, thanks. I didn’t even have to do any tricks for that,” Shayna scoffs holding the treat in her hand.

“Give it to the dog…” Tristan rolls his eyes closing the box, placing it back in the pantry.

“Oh really?” Shayna shakes her head at him. “Ok, so… Lexi… sit,” she looks down to the small dog watching as she sat down looking up at her anxiously. “Does she do anything else?”

“Of course! Paw!” Tristan laughs. “Other paw! Good girl… Down…. Roll!” The dog lays down on the floor, rolling around quickly, sitting up quickly as she whines to Shayna.

Shayna throws the treat in the air watching as Lexi jumps up snatching it mid air. “Impressive… she’s really good,” she grins bending down to pet the dog.

“When is Dad coming home?” Tristan turns to Helene sitting at the counter.

“He’ll be in around 5,” Helene looks up from her coffee cup. “What’s up?”

“I was just wondering. It’s usually nap time in Seattle right now. I was gonna go rest a little…” Tristan looks at the watch on his wrist. “We had a long flight.”

“He’ll be in around 5 so, go rest. Be sure to show Shayna around upstairs,” Helene smiles.

“See you guys later,” Marc waves from the den. “Greyson, Tree is taking a nap. What do you say, you take a nap too?”

“Treeeee! Noooo nap! Play!” Greyson stands up grabbing the toy truck running towards Tristan. “Play, peeeeaaaze?” he pouts holding the truck out in his little hands.

“We can play later on buddy. Tree needs a nap. Sleepy time. You, too. Be a good boy ok, I’ll see you later on.” Tristan kneels down to him.

“No Tree!” he pouts, his little shoulders slumping forward. He turns to walk back to the den stopping in front of Shayna. “Play?” his face lights up holding the toy to her.

Shayna smiles holding her hands out to him “Ok, for a few minutes.” She looks over to Tristan with a shrug. “Just a few?”

Tristan smiles nodding to Shayna. “Greyson, you play with Shayna. Can you say Shay?”

Greyson hands Shayna the toy as he looks at her. He rubs his hands together a few seconds, looking back and forth between her and Tristan. “Say? Say…”

“Good job Greyson!” Shayna smiles holding her hands out for him. “Come on, let’s go play.”  Greyson holds his arms out letting Shayna pick him up. “Ok, what do you want to play?”

Greyson points into the den, “Cars!”

Shayna nods setting Greyson on her hip, “You got it.” She looks over at Tristan, his face in a fond grin, his phone in his hand as he snaps a picture. “Ooh look Greyson, Tree is taking a picture. Do you want to smile for him?” she points to Tristan. Greyson nods putting his arms around Shayna’s neck, smiling big for Tristan.

“Very nice!” Tristan chuckles taking the picture, his smile from ear to ear. “My two favorite people.”

“Again!” Greyson claps his hands, wiggling around in Shayna’s arms.

“Another picture?” Tristan asks, stepping closer to them. “Can I be in it too?” Greyson eyes narrow before he nods as Tristan stands next to Shayna holding his phone out as he switches to the front facing camera leaning in closer to them. “Ok, ready? One, two…. three!” he clicks the button taking a picture of the three of them.

“Ok, Greyson, come on, Tree is tired and is going to pass out shortly,” Marc holds his hands out to him. “Come on, we have to go get mommy anyway. We’ll come back after.”

Greyson pouts, his little arm going around Shayna’s neck, his face burying into her shoulder. “Noooo!”

“We have to go get mommy…. you wanna see mommy?” Marc looks at him from over Shayna’s shoulder. “Come on…”

“Go ahead Greyson, go get mommy,” Shayna whispers in his ear. “You’re gonna come back.”

“Say and Tree will be here when we come back. Give Say a hug and tell her you’ll see her in a bit.”

Greyson leans in tighter, his arms squeezing Shayna. “Bye bye, Say…”

“See ya later Greyson,” Shayna lifts him over to Marc. “We’ll see you when you come back.”

Marc takes him back into the den putting his coat on him, zipping him up. “We’ll be back for when Dad gets in. Dinner is at 7 right at Downtown?”

Helene nods giving Greyson a kiss, “Yup, 7. I’ll see you guys later.”

Tristan and Shayna walk Marc to the front door, grabbing their suitcases from the stairs.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do here…” Marc chuckles adjusting Greyson on his hip as he opens the door stepping out to the driveway. “Later kids!”

“So funny…” Tristan rolls his eyes as he starts up the stairs, Shayna following behind him. “So, nothing too crazy to see here. Guest room, bathroom… parent’s room down that way…. my old room here.” he opens the door to his left in the small hallway. “You’ll be pleasantly surprised my mom has left it the way it was, just a bigger bed.” he turns on the overhead lights.

Shayna steps in the room looking around as she places her bags by the closet door. She starts by looking at his hockey trophies lined up on the shelves, medals and plaques hanging from various spots on the dark blue walls. A small pair of skates sit on top of  large dresser next to a pair of child’s hockey gloves. “Oh my god, look at your hair in this one…” she grabs a framed picture from the same dresser of a long haired younger Tristan dressed in full gear minus his helmet, a white, navy and burgundy jersey snuggly fitting over his equipment. “That flow though… you should grow it back out.” she grins putting the picture back down. “You look so adorable.”

“Grow it back out? Eh, too much maintenance… You just want something extra to pull.” Tristan grins as he takes his sweatshirt off tossing it to the desk chair next to him.

“Nah, I’m just kidding, I like your hair now,” Shayna smiles as she looks around the room.

Tristan slides his arms around her pulling her back towards the bed, “And that’s enough investigation for now. It’s nap time!” he tosses her on to the bed, grabbing her feet to pull her Vans off, dropping them on the floor by his sneakers. “There we go…” he nods as he climbs up the mattress over her, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

“In the middle of the day at your parents’ house with your mother in the house? You sir are crazy…” Shayna giggles running her hand across his t-shirt clad chest.

“No, not really right now. Just giving you a kiss. I am really tired for once,” he yawns as he continues his way to the head of the bed.

Shayna slides up next to him, resting her head on the pillow as she takes her glasses off, handing them to Tristan to place them on the desk next to him. She gives a stifled yawn, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

“You were really good with Greyson,” Tristan smiles pulling her closer to him.

“He’s absolutely adorable. I’ve got to get the practice in now for when Bubbles arrives. I have to get my Godmother training going,” she laughs curling into his side, her leg hooking over his as she gets closer.

“You’re going to be a great godmother.” Tristan yawns again, his eyes closing slowly as he starts drifting off to sleep.

****  
  


******

“So would you like to see some baby pictures of Tristan? He was such an adorable baby,” Helene grins from her stool at the countertop.

“Mom, really? Baby pictures?” Tristan asks glaring at his mother from the other side of the island.

“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when your child brings someone home for the holidays?” Helene shrugs. “We did it to Marc…”

“Yeah and Aimee still can’t unsee some of those pictures…” Marc scoffs crossing his arms as he leans against the countertop next to Tristan. “But by all means, I’ll go get them so Shayna can check them out.”

“No you won’t!” Tristan rubs his face.

“If you put Tristan’s and Greyson’s baby pictures next to each other you would swear it was the same baby,” Aimee, Marc’s wife, chimes in from her spot on the floor next to Greyson, handing him his toy blocks.

“Almost makes me wonder…” Marc smirks as he turns to Tristan giving him a nudge with his elbow.

“You two looked exactly the same for the most part,” Helene shakes her head. “Marc’s hair was just a touch lighter.”

“Who looked the same?” A voice from the hall calls out.

“Pepe!” Greyson stands from his block pile taking off for the doorway.

A tall, grey haired much older looking version of Marc and Tristan with glasses catches Greyson in a hug picking him up in his arms as he walks into the kitchen.

“Who’s come to visit Pepe?!” the man laughs cooing at Greyson as he lifts him up in the air above him. Greyson squeals giggling as he lifts him up and down.

“You might wanna take that easy, Dad. He’s just had dinner not even like 40 minutes ago…” Marc laughs watching him.

“Mmm, good point,” he gives Greyson a kiss on the cheek as he sets him back down on the floor. “Tristan! Welcome home!” he holds his arms out to hug him. “I heard you brought a guest.”

Tristan smiles letting go of his father. He turns to Shayna holding his hand out for her. “Dad, this is Shayna. Shayna this is my dad Maxime Deniau. You can call him Max though.”

“It’s wonderful meeting you Mr. Deniau,” Shayna smiles holding her hand out to him.

“You can call me Max, it’s perfectly acceptable Aren’t you adorable? I can see why you’ve stolen Tristan’s heart,” Max grins shaking Shayna’s hand back scanning her features.

“Dad…” Tristan sighs from next to them.

“I can’t say how beautiful your girlfriend is, Tristan?” Max shakes his head looking at his son. “Take it as a compliment,” he slaps his shoulder. “Let me just get changed and we can head out to dinner,” he announces to the group.

****  
  


******

Tristan’s phone rings as they sit in the back seat of Marc’s SUV. He grins at the screen accepting the call. Shayna looks at him  with a questionable look as if to ask who it is. Tristan holds out his hand telling her one minute as he continues to talk in French over the phone.

“Yeah, we can do that if you guys want to meet up. We are on the way to dinner but should able to hang out later. Where do you want to meet up?” Tristan switches to English mid conversation. He nods at the phone in agreement. “Yeah, we can do that. I’ll ask Marc if he and Aimee want to hang out for a drink. I’ll text you to confirm. See you later man…”  Tristan disconnects the call looking to Marc in the driver’s seat. “Bastian wants to know if we all want to meet up after dinner for a drink.”

“Yeah, that should be fine. I’ll just have to see of Mom will watch Greyson for a bit,” Marc nods looking back in the rearview. “Is that cool Aims?”

Aimee shakes her head as she adjusts her shoulder length brown hair in the small visor mirror. “Sounds good with me. Ask your mom first though.”

“Good!” Tristan nods typing away at his phone. “You’ll get to meet some of my friends from here,” he smiles at Shayna. “Everyone’s home for the holiday.”

“Sounds fun.” Shayna nods.

Marc parks the car in a spot right outside the front door of the restaurant in Old Montreal. Tristan slides out of the seat holding his hand out to help Shayna.

“This is really pretty,” Shayna looks around at the older looking buildings on the cobblestone street.

“Everything is really old here, the restaurant is over 100 years old,” Tristan leads her to the vined gate across the sidewalk, ushering her inside.

“There’s my parents,” Tristan points to his mom and dad standing at the reception area waiting for the four of them to arrive.

The receptionist sits them down at a large table, Tristan’s parents at the ends, Aimee and Marc on one side, Tristan and Shayna on the other. The waiter arrives taking their drink orders allowing them to look over the menu.

Shayna looks over the menu scrunching her face trying to make sense of the French on the page. “Yup so, can’t read any of this…” she leans over to Tristan with a frown. “There is a steak somewhere on here I hope?”

“Of course there is, I made sure of it. Don’t worry, I’ll order it for you like a proper gentleman,” he laughs taking the menu from her. “Extra potatoes, I know. They also don’t have beer here, so I’ll just get you a…. coke? Unless you want wine..”

“That’s fine. Soda works,” Shayna smiles handing him the leather menu. “I think I should invest in like Rosetta Stone or something, I feel bad I can’t even read a menu.”

“It’s fine, I told you I’m your personal translator,” Tristan slides his hand on her thigh giving it a quick squeeze. “It makes me feel useful.”

“So Shayna, Tristan tells me you have a very large family,” Helene speaks up from next to her at the head of the table.

“Yes, I do. My parents each come from large families. I have two older brothers and a younger sister. My cousins are very close as well. We all grew up together,” Shayna smiles.

“It was like a full out party when her brothers had friends over the night before Thanksgiving at the house. They’re all so close, even like second cousins,” Tristan explains taking a sip of his water. “I can’t imagine our family even coming close to it. It’s awesome though, there’s always someone to hang out with.”

“And what do your parents do?” Helene nods.

“My dad is now retired from the Pacific Railroad. My mom owns a cafe in town. She really just needed somewhere to go away from my dad during the day to hang out with all the other ladies in town. It’s really cute and super popular in town. My dad spends most of his time at my brothers’ auto shop. He does some of their desk work. My brothers own their own automotive shop. They work on cars, do upgrades and all that kind of stuff. My sister works for DC Comics in Vancouver. She’s an art director for some sort of branch of the company.”

“Your sister is in DC Comics?” Marc gapes speaking up, his eyes wide with amusement. “You mean she draws comics?”

“Not like the actual comics… she’s big into comics, she oversees some sort of art department. I honestly have no idea what it is specifically she does, she just comes home with tons of books and movies gushing over some sort of story lines and toys. I never really get it but…” Shayna shrugs.

“She has the Batman hook up?” Marc rests his chin on his hand, his elbow propped up on the table. “I’ve really been trying to get Greyson interested in the whole superhero thing….”

“That’s funny, I got him stuff like that for Christmas,” Shayna laughs looking at Tristan. “I hope he likes it.”

“YES! That’s so sweet of you,” Marc chuckles. “I like her already, Tristan.”

“How did you two meet other than working for the same team?” Aimee chimes in.

“Did you pour on that Deniau charm, Trist?” Marc sits back in his chair extending his arm around Aimee. “That’s how I won this one over…”

“Don’t let him fool you, he was drunk while we were out with friends and tried to eat my face,” Aimee laughs rolling her eyes at Marc. “Charm was not what happened.”

“You still let me though!” Marc pouts.

“And here we are…” Aimee gives him a sweet smile before turning back to Shayna and Tristan. “So… what happened?”

Shayna looks at Tristan with a shrug. “I’ve always had a crush on him since he came to Seattle. We’ve met a ton of times with my job and because I am a huge hockey fan. He didn’t really give in until this year. I guess I finally won him over.”

“He doesn’t have a very good track record,” Marc snorts. “I can’t imagine how that went down… Someone has commitment iss--- Oww, Jesus Aim…” Marc rubs his ribs where Aimee just jabbed her elbow.

“That’s not your business to talk about,” Aimee narrows her eyes at him. “Tristan is an amazing man and you’re extremely lucky to have locked that down.”

“Yeah so, new topic of conversation please…” Tristan mutters looking at Marc with a frown.

Shayna pats Tristan’s hand on her thigh giving him a wink. “It’s ok… It all sounds familiar.”

****

“You guys don’t mind keeping Greyson for a little while?” Aimee asks putting her coat on as everyone gets up from the table.

“He’s probably sleeping, it’s fine. You guys go out and have fun. It doesn’t happen a lot where you guys go out. Enjoy, tell the boys we said hello,” Helene waves at her. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks Mom, we appreciate it,” Marc gives Helene a quick hug.

“We’ll see you when you guys get in, if not then in the morning,” Max helps Helene with her coat. “Have fun.”

Tristan hands Shayna her coat holding it out so she can slide her arms in it. He picks up the scarf from the chair turning her to face him as he wraps the soft brown material around her. “Gotta make sure you’re not cold,” he laughs kissing her forehead. “I’m excited for you to meet my friends.”

“I am excited too. It seems like everyone we know at home, well in Seattle is either related to me or someone I know. It will be a nice change,” Shayna takes his hand as they head to the door.

The four exchange their goodbyes with Max and Helene as they climb into Marc’s SUV. After a brief ten minute drive a few blocks away, Marc pulls up to the bar, parking the truck on the side street.

“It’s honestly been forever since we’ve been here…” Marc smiles at Aimee, taking her hand as the group walks around the corner to the front door.

“Well well well, looks who’s returned!” a voice calls out from the large group outside the door. A dirty blonde, well dressed man steps out his arms outstretched. “Deni! Oh and you too Marc…”

“Fuck off Bastian…. really?” Marc scoffs pushing at his shoulder playfully.

“Oh shit, Tristan is here?” the door whips open as another man comes out from inside the bar.

Tristan grins hugging each of them. “I am here... “

“I’m going inside, no one seems to care I’m here so…. Ladies?” Marc grabs the door opening it for Aimee and Shayna. “Let the bros hug it out in the cold.”

Aimee nods at him taking Shayna’s arm pulling her to the door. “Come on inside. He’ll find you. No sense in freezing out here.”

“Good point,” Shayna follows them inside, looking back at Tristan being welcomed by his friends as the door closes.

“What can I get you to drink Shay?” Marc walks up to the one end securing two chairs for them.

“Um, beer is fine… No, you know what, vodka and cran please. Stoli if they have?” Shayna slides her coat off and onto the back of the chair.

“Sure thing. The usual for you Aims?” he waves down the bartender.

“Of course.” Aimee takes a seat next to Shayna. “He might be a few, it’s been awhile since he’s been home. I’m sure they’re all going crazy out there.”

“Oh it’s fine. I’m happy he got to come home,” Shayna smiles taking her glass from Marc. “Thanks Marc.”  

The door opens up, Tristan files through with a large group of guys, a huge smile on his face as he talks amongst them.

“Deni’s home! Luc! Get the man a drink!” Bastian yells over the crowd waving at the bartender to get his attention.  “Fuck it, give me the bottle of Jager! Might as well make it big!”

“Jesus, you would think they haven’t seen him in ages,” Marc laughs as he watches Bastian climb up and sit on the bar reaching over to grab the bottle from Luc’s hands.

Shayna chuckles watching the group excitedly hover around Tristan, some people hugging him and shaking his hand. Luc tries to pour Red Bull into shot glasses as fast he can as Bastian hands them out to the crowd around him. “He is the absolute opposite in Seattle. He’s so quiet and reserved. This is like a whole new side of him. Usually it’s me causing the noise at the bar…”

“Tristan quiet and reserved? No, you’re kidding right?” Marc coughs into his drink. “That Tristan?”

“That Tristan…” Shayna smiles nodding at him. “He was always so quiet even when we were around each other prior. Even at Mile, he’s been quiet. When he bought me that drink that night in September he was so tight lipped. I told him it was so awkward that I felt like it was forced that we were talking. Obviously he’s broken out of that some with me at home, but… nothing like this.”

“You’re in for a treat, he might even be drunk by the time we bring him home,” Marc laughs taking a sip from his drink watching Tristan.

“Oh my god, I heard Tristan is home!” a female voice behind Shayna speaks out, yelling over the noise.

“Are you serious? How do I look? Fuck, I would have gotten dressed better if someone told me. Fucking Bastian, he didn’t tell me,” a second voice replies. “Where is he?”

“He’s at the bar, just walked in with Bastian, Stephane and Alex. He looks so good…”

Shayna turns in her chair catching a glimpse of the voices, two brunettes stand just off against the wall behind her, the one checking her make up in a small compact mirror, the other adjusting her top.

“I’ve been trying to get with him for a while, maybe this time…” the first girl smiles in her mirror wiping the gloss at the corners of her mouth.

Aimee chuckles looking at Shayna watch the girls make their way into the crowd in the direction of Tristan. “I heard about your… track record? Marc told me what you did to that girl in Dallas.”

Shayna turns looking at Aimee taking a sip of her drink with a smirk “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“You fucked that girl up didn’t you?” Marc laughs patting her shoulder. “I wouldn’t suggest it this evening. You probably don’t want to go to a jail up here. Plus that would be interesting to tell Max and Hels. Oh yeah, hey Happy Christmas Eve, we had to bail out Shayna….”

“Oh I’m not doing anything. Curious to see how this goes though. Your brother might end up sleeping in an igloo on your parents patio.” Shayna finishes her drink placing the glass on the bar top as she leans forward looking down the bar to Tristan and the large crowd.

The two girls make their way through the crowd, the first one tapping Tristan on the shoulder trying to get his attention.

“Tristan!” girl one squeals holding her hands out. “You’re home!”

“Oh hey Emilie,” Tristan forces a smile as he looks down at her.

“Emilie! I forgot to tell you Tristan was coming…. Yeah, Tristan’s coming…” Bastian laughs looking around Tristan’s shoulder.

Emilie pouts giving him her best sad eyes “I don’t even get a hug? You go to Seattle for the season and forgot all about us small people here at home?” she runs her finger down his grey sweatered arm.

“And me,” girl two speaks up, her arms crossed watching them.

“Jacqui,” Tristan sighs looking at her.

“Really not happy to see us are you?” Emilie scoffs, her face dropping.

Tristan looks around over their heads trying to find Shayna, unable to locate her in the crowd. “Alex, did you see where Marc went?” he asks looking around completely ignoring the two girls in front of him.

“He’s sitting at the end of the bar with Aimee and that other girl. Well the other girl was there...” Alex leans over the bar top pointing to his left.

Tristan looks down the bar to see Marc give a wave with a grin on his face. Tristan raises an eyebrow at him in confusion.

“Hey babe, I got you a drink,” Shayna slides into the circle in front of Emilie handing Tristan a glass as she stands next to him.

“Excuse me…” Emilie taps her shoulder, a sneer on her face.

“Oh hi, I’m Shayna, Tristan’s girlfriend,” Shayna turns with a grin holding her hand out. “Oh, no hand shake. Fine with me.” She switches her drink to her other hand as she wraps her arm around Tristan’s waist.

Emilie gives Shayna the once over before turning on her heel and out of the crowd, Jacqui right behind her.

“So you’re Shayna. Well it’s a pleasure to finally meet the girl who’s stolen Tristan Deniau’s heart,” Alex holds his hand out to Shayna.

“I personally can’t believe someone has you on lock now,” Bastian slaps Tristan’s shoulder. “Proud of you man.”

“I won’t hold up your little reunion here, just wanted to say hi real quick and give you a drink. I’ll be with Marc and Aimee.” Shayna squeezes his side.

“No Shayna! Stay! We’ll tell you embarrassing stories about Tristan,” Bastian pouts. “Where were you when we were handing out shots? Luc! Come on, this girl needs a shot…”

“Ah, no, I’m good thank you though. Marc and Aimee are down there by themselves, it’s fine. Enjoy your time with Tristan.” Shayna smiles waving off the shot glass Luc holds up.

“They’ll come down here! YO! Marc, I know you’re a parent and all now, but for Christ sakes, come down here and act like you aren’t for like an hour,” Stephane leans over the bar waving at Marc. “Don’t look at me like that, bring the shit down here and don’t act like we don’t give a shit that you’re here.”

Tristan slides his arm around Shayna’s shoulders pulling her close to him as he places a kiss on the top of her head. “Thank you.”

Shayna looks up at him nodding. “Well you know, just looking out for what’s mine… you know how I get,” she smirks.

“Yeah, no pulling extensions out this evening please?”

“Best behavior, promise!” Shayna holds her hand up.

“So what fun stories can we tell Shayna about Deni?” Bastian speaks up as he takes a swig from the large bottle in his hand.

“Do you have to drink straight from the bottle?” Alex rolls his eyes watching Bastian tip the bottle over.

“It’s empty… Luc! Here,” he holds the bottle out. “We’ll probably need another one.”

Luc nods throwing the empty into the recycling bin below the counter. “I’ll give you some time before I pop another one.” He turns to Shayna extending his hand over the bar. “I’m Luc. I’m also a friend of Deni’s. Next drink is on me.”

“It’s nice to meet you, you don’t have to do that,” Shayna smiles shaking his hand.

Marc and Aimee slide in to the group, Marc placing their coats on the chair next to them. “We grabbed your coat Shayna,” Marc tosses it on the chair as Aimee hands her her small clutch.

“Thanks guys, I appreciate it.” Shayna nods.

“So should we tell her about that one time,” Bastian taps Alex’s shoulder getting his attention.

“Nope. Not at all,” Tristan coughs looking at him with narrow eyes.

“Oh come on, you met her family and friends. I’m sure they told you all about her embarrassing adventures.” Bastian glares at Tristan. “It’s not fair for her to meet us and we can’t say anything?”

“Yeah, come on, you got to hear all about my adventures with Faith and our travels to see boybands. If that’s not embarrassing enough I don’t know what is…” Shayna pouts, her lower lip extended as she looks at him with sad eyes. “Just come on, one or two!”

“We should totally tell her about Vegas from last year when we went for my birthday during the summer…” Alex chuckles.

“Vegas? Well yes then, I need to hear this,” Shayna’s eyes light up at the mention of Vegas. “Vegas is my second home. Faith’s parents moved there so I’m all about it. Continue, please do tell...”

“We were at MGM because we were going to see Tiesto since it was my birthday. We figured we’d do it big, get a table, some bottle service,” Alex starts, his face fond as he remembers.

“I only do shit big just so you know,” Bastian cuts in with a smirk.

“We pre gamed in the room, then we went down to the one bar in the center of the playing floor…”

“Oh, yeah the Glass Bar,” Shayna nods.

“Yeah, Glass. Ok so we were all pretty shitty by the time we got to the table in the club…”

“When was this? Like date wise. Faith and I were probably there.”

“July, mid July it was a Saturday night around the like 14th? Last year…” Alex turns to Luc. “It had to be the 14th right?”

“Yeah, the 14th.” Luc nods with a smile. “Such a good night.”

“We were there,” Shayna grins. “VIP area, up by the booth.”

“You get VIP to Tiesto?” Bastian gapes at her. “When are you bringing us with you? More specifically me.”

“Whenever you want,” Shayna grins.

“So anyway, we were pretty into it. Someone had a bottle of Goose all to himself. It was crazy, I’ve personally never seen him drink so much.” Alex looks at Tristan, amusement spread across his face. “It turned into the Hangover pretty much from there. We lost him somewhere between the time of 12:45 and 2am. I think it was Luc who went to the room to check to see if he was there and there he was, sleeping outside of the door curled up into a ball.”

“I woke him up, told him to come in the room and he refused. Said he was just taking a nap where it was quiet,” Luc cracks up laughing from behind the bar. “He asked what time it was so I told him it was almost 2. He stood up and told me he was hungry, insisting we go find everyone else so we could eat.”

“Luc comes back down, Tristan in tow whining about how hungry he was so we head into that one restaurant that’s always open on the main floor. He proceeds to just house food…” Alex laughs, waving his arms around as he talks.

“He ate two cheeseburgers, a plate of fries, half of my sandwich…” Luc rolls his eyes as he counts off on his fingers.

“So we ask him, ‘Where were you the whole time?’. It was like an hour he was missing. He couldn’t even tell us. I still think to this day, we’ll never know…” Alex shakes his head patting Tristan’s shoulder. “We go back upstairs because there was no way anyone else was going anywhere at that point. He fell asleep in the bathroom. He didn’t throw up or anything, just fell asleep on the cold tile. We were gonna leave him there but we dragged his big ass to the rollaway bed that we moved into the hallway and just seatbelted him in to it. He didn’t even wake up until mid morning the next day.”

Tristan rubs at his face, his cheeks slightly flushed, “I was so hungover the next day, it was disgusting. Thank god we didn’t fly out for another two days. I would have honestly died on the plane on the way home.”

“That is hilarious!” Shayna giggles. “I can say that we have had similar issues. We lost Ella once. She walked back to the room with half of her clothes on. I have no idea how that one happened but... I’ve had some questionable behavior as well there.”

“Well, we’re going to have to keep you around now,” Bastian laughs putting his arm around Shayna’s shoulders. “We’ll get him drunk like that again one day. Preferably Vegas again but yanno… Should make for a good time.”

“God no…” Tristan sighs, his mouth in a thin line, completely unamused.

“I’d like to see that,” Shayna nods. “Oh don’t be upset, it’ll be a good time. I’ll get us into all the best places.”

****  
  


********

Marc yawns standing at the bar looking around for Tristan, “I hate to break this up but I’m really tired and we need to head home.”

“I hear that,” Shayna nods looking at Marc. “I’m ready to head home. Where did Tristan go?” she looks around the bar noticing him standing at the far end taking shots with Bastian, Alex and a few other people.

“He’s going to be in prime form,” Marc laughs. “Luc, bottles of water please? LIke four? Whatever you have I guess. He’s gonna need it.”

Luc laughs reaching into the cooler below him. “He’s definitely going to need these. Good luck with that one Shayna.”

“Thanks,” Shayna shakes her head grabbing the bottles. “Let’s wrangle him. Tristan!” Shayna walks down to the end other bar sliding her arm around his waist. “Hey babe, time to go home.”

“Tristan has to go home now? “ Bastian whines turning to Shayna. “But do you have to take him? He was just here and he’ll be gone again.”

“Yes, we need to go home. He’ll be back sooner than you think.” Shayna nods holding her arms out to hug Bastian.

“Fine, fine….” Bastian hugs her tight. “It was nice to properly meet you. You’ll have to hook it up when we come down…”

“Of course,” Shayna smiles hugging Alex next. “It was nice to meet you guys.”

“Yes, come down and visit! We don’t really have room at our apartment because it’s only one bedroom, but we’ll figure something out,” Tristan grins wrapping his arms around Shayna’s shoulders. “Shayna will get you guys hooked up. Wow, I didn’t realize how short you are.” Tristan chuckles kissing the top of Shayna’s head.

“Our apartment?” Shayna looks up at him from the corner of her eye, patting his forearm. “Right, yeah so time for you to go home.  And I am not that short.”

“I know I’m a monster, but you’re the wee monster. We’re monsters together,” Tristan laughs. “She pulled a girl’s hair out once in Dallas, she gave her a black eye too!”

“Yeah not my finest moment, Tristan…” Shayna ducks under his arm grabbing their coats, handing his grey coat to him.

“You fought some girl?” Alex’s eyes go wide with amazement looking at Shayna. “Were you fighting over Tristan?”

“No, I punched the shit out of Oliver’s ex-girlfriend who talked shit on Faith and then tried to hook up with him.” Shayna slides her arms into her coat.

“She literally grabbed the girl by the hair and then… just bam, right in the face.” Tristan mimics the fight, his arms flying about knocking over a glass on the bar.

“Yeah, now you’re knocking over shit, let’s go. Boys, it’s been lovely. Marc? You ready?” Shayna laughs looking over at Marc and Aimee.

“Bye guys!” Tristan hugs them each before grabbing Shayna’s arm as they walk out the door to the truck.

Marc unlocks the doors allowing them to climb in. Tristan slides in first from the sidewalk grabbing Shayna by the waist pulling her in after him.

“Jesus Christ! Watch my head,” Shayna giggles ducking as he pulls her in the truck on to his lap. “I need to close the door.”

“Marc, close the door!” Tristan laughs as he rubs his face in Shayna’s neck.

“Don’t even start that shit in this truck, Tristan. You keep those hands where I can see them,” Marc looks in the back seat as he shuts the door with a slam. He climbs in the drivers seat looking into the rearview with a chuckle. “I know it’s not you, Shayna. I did tell you he was gonna be in prime form. He gets handsy.”

Shayna laughs slapping Tristan’s hands from unbuttoning her coat. “Tristan, no. Calm yourself, we’ll be home shortly.”

Tristan moans lightly into Shayna’s hair, his voice muffled as he speaks French to her.

“Tristan!” Marc cracks up laughing as he looks at Aimee quickly trying to keep his eyes on the road ahead of him. “That is just horrible. That language!”

“Do I even want to know what he just said?” Shayna bites her lip, trying to stifle her laughter.

Aimee shakes her head laughing “Just basically what he’s going to do to you when you get home. Horrible that he said that out loud though. Embarrassing on his part.”

“I don’t even want to know…” Shayna laughs trying to escape Tristan grasp.

“No, don’t move,” Tristan pulls her closer to him, his arms tightening around her. “Please don’t.”

“Fine, fine. Just stop trying to unbutton my coat. Keep your hands where I can see them.” Shayna giggles.

Tristan nods at her, his eyes wide and glassy as he cradles her in his lap, his hand absently playing with her long hair as he runs his nose along her neck.

Ten minutes later, Marc pulls into the driveway of Max and Helene’s house shutting off the engine. “Thank god… if I heard any more whimpering I thought I was gonna die.”

Shayna slides off Tristan’s lap to the door pushing with her hand and foot trying to get away from Tristan for two seconds. She closes the door behind her, leaning against the side of the truck.

“Told you, prime form. I saw his face. We are gonna take Greyson and we’ll be back tomorrow night for our traditional Christmas Eve exchange,” Marc hops out of the front of the truck, shutting his door softly as he looks at Shayna with a smirk. “Come on, let’s bring him in with as minimal sound as possible.”

Shayna nods at Marc as both of them make their way around the back of the truck to Tristan who is still sitting in his seat with the door open to the truck. She walks to his side of the truck, holding her hand out to him. “You coming inside?”

Tristan looks at her, his eyes wide as he grabs her hand with a smile. “Of course I’m coming…”

“Are you serious…” Shayna rolls her eyes at him, shaking her head with a grimace.

“You would say that,” he chuckles at her. “Why would you even… OHHHH… HAHA, soon enough…” He pulls her close to him, his arm wrapping around her shoulders.

“Unless I magically could give you a piggy back, please don’t. I can’t carry your ass inside…” Shayna laughs ducking under his arms, standing to his side.  
  


“Shhhhh… I’m sure they’re sleeping,” Marc holds his hand as he unlocks the door inside of the garage.

The three of them make their way inside to the den. Helene is out cold, sleeping in front of the large tv on the couch.

“I’m gonna tell her we are here and grab Grey, bring his drunk ass upstairs…” Marc silently laughs to himself as he points to the staircase. “Just remember, shhhhhh…. Second door on the left. Good luck! Wait! Here…” Marc walks into the kitchen area opening the refrigerator, pulling two bottles of water out and placing them in Shayna’s jacket pockets as they make their way through the kitchen.

Shayna nods thanking him as she navigates Tristan to the hallway and up the staircase to the second floor.

“I know where I am going… it’s not like I haven’t done this before, Shayna…” Tristan slurs as they make their way up the stairs.

“I know, I know.. just shhhh. Just save it til we get in the room…” Shayna whispers at him, slapping his back as they make it to the second floor, pushing him into the doorway. She turns on the light, closing the door behind them.

Tristan laughs to himself muttering in French as Shayna takes her coat off, throwing it to the desk. She starts unbuttoning Tristan’s coat as he looks down at her.

“I’m half turned on, but I don’t know if I want to know what you just said. Just an FYI, your mother is going to be walking through here shortly since Marc is sorta waking her up, keep your remarks to a dull whisper.” Shayna laughs pulling his coat off him tossing it to the chair next to desk.

“You’re just mad you don’t know what I’m saying,” Tristan kisses her forehead.

“I’m sure I don’t want to know,” Shayna unhooks her necklace placing it on her desk. “This isn’t like my parents where we can make all the noise in the world… so just shush. Can you get changed for bed?”

Tristan mutters to himself again still speaking in French.

“OH MY GOD, shut up!” Shayna bites on her sweater as she lifts it over her head muffling her moan. “You’re doing this on purpose… just give me like two seconds.”

Tristan smirks as he pulls his sweater up over his head. “Is this what you wanted?” he throws his grey sweater at her.

“Tristan!” Shanya half whisper, half scoffs at him. “Come on… don’t be sassy no--- oh… well. Stop that!” she watches as he unbuttons his jeans pulling them down his thighs, half falling back on the bed behind him as he pulls them off with his socks, tossing them to the side. He stands again, slightly wobbly as he pulls his white t-shirt off over his head, tossing it to the floor as he hops back onto the mattress behind him.

“Your turn…” Tristan smiles as he lays back on to his outstretched arms. Shayna bites her lip taking in Tristan’s almost naked body on display in front of her. “Yeah, just like I said…” his accent hard with each word as he speaks in French again.

Shayna looks at him, trying to nod as she slowly unbuttons her white shirt, her fingers fumbling as his eyes watching her every move. “You know, I can’t do this with you watching me like you’re just going to rip everything off of me.”

“That’s because I would rip everything off of you if I didn’t know my mother was walking through the hallway at any given minute. You are sooooo lucky we aren’t home.” Tristan smirks sitting up, his elbows on his knees as he watches her. “Can you just move like an fraction faster before I come over there.”

Shayna drops her hands to her hips as she stops unbuttoning her shirt glaring at him. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh?” Tristan stands stepping in front of her in a second, his hands grabbing at the soft material of her shirt. “Really?” He looks at her, his fists pulling in opposite directions, buttons flying everywhere as he pulls. “I’ll buy you a new one…” he pulls her to him, his mouth dropping to hers aggressively, their tongues fighting for space. He reaches down between them, fingers curling into her jeans as he picks her up by her waistband, tossing her to the bed next to them.

“Calm yourself Tristan!” Shayna growls at him, raising her hand to mouth signaling him to keep quiet.

“I’ll be quiet, when you are,” he leans over her, inches from her face as he pushes her jeans down to her knees. He smirks as he gets a better hold of them pulling them down her legs, tossing them over his shoulder. “Better.”

“Just shut the light off. I don’t want anyone thinking we are awake,” Shayna points to the light switch by the doorway. “Lock it… just in case too.”

Tristan nods stepping off to the side of the bed reaching out to the door knob, locking it as he flips the overhead lights off. He chuckles to himself as he climbs back on the bed, his hands reaching out in the darkness for Shayna, pulling her under him. He drops his weight to her side, his mouth continuing its assault on her starting with her mouth, to her chin, down her neck to the swells of her breasts just above her bra. He hooks his fingers under the straps pulling them down over her shoulders as he presses kisses to her skin, softly he reaches under her unhooking the back of the lacy material, pulling it off of her and tossing it to the floor. Shayna bites her lip trying to keep quiet as he palms her breasts, gently nipping as he works each one.

“You have to be quiet Shayna,” Tristan whispers between kisses, a smirk on his face as he looks up at her. “Keep…. quiet….Shayna….” he exaggerates his words as he runs his hand down her stomach, teasing her belly button. He leans back down again to her neck, biting hard, sucking at tender skin.

“Just be careful…. I don’t have a scarf to cover anything yo---” Shayna is cut off by Tristan’s hand sliding past the lace in between her legs, his fingers dipping deep into her. She reaches behind her grabbing a pillow from the head of the bed, dropping it to her face, biting into the cotton pillow case.

Tristan laughs pulling his hand out from between her legs as he slides off the side of the bed opening the desk drawer grabbing a condom. Shayna slides the pillow to the top of her head, her eyes peeking out from below watching him slide his boxers off dropping them to the floor. He rips open the packet tossing it to the floor next to his boxers as he slides the latex down his swollen, hard cock. Climbing back on the bed he positions himself between Shayna’s legs, grabbing at her underwear, pulling them swiftly down her legs, tossing them over his shoulder.

Shayna giggles as he pulls her to him, sliding into her. She pulls the pillow down her face to her chest, her mouth covered by the top of the pillow so she could see him above her. Tristan leans down over her pulling the pillow down to kiss her hard, his tongue diving right into her mouth as he thrusts forward and deep into her. She whimpers into his mouth as he continues to shift his hips back and forth. He breaks their kiss as one hand grabs at her hair, the other on the pillow between them.

“I’m not going to last much longer…” he leans down into her ear whispering to her before he pulls the pillow up higher. He picks up his thrusts, each one getting harder as he goes. Shayna whines into the pillow, her hands in his hair, her legs wrapping around his waist giving him deeper access.

Tristan drops his head to the pillow, biting the pillow case with a deep growl as he slams into her frantically, his orgasm hitting quickly. Shayna tightens her legs around him, catching the last few thrusts sending her over right behind him. He stills over her, his mouth releasing the pillow as he picks his head up, looking at her from over the material, a huge grin on his face as they make eye contact.

Shayna lets go of his hair reaching down to pull the pillow out from between them tossing it behind her head. Tristan leans down giving her a quick kiss on the lips before picking his weight up off of her and sliding off of the bed to clean himself up. He switches on the small lamp on the desk so they can see.

Shayna slides off the bed gathering her articles of clothing thrown about the floor making her way to her suitcase. She pulls out her pajama shorts and a tee. Standing, she pulls her underwear on followed by the shorts and the tee. “I totally have to pee now… Bathroom is outside the door right?”

Tristan nods pulling his boxers up, tossing his remaining clothing to the desk chair. “Yeah, right to the right side.”

Shayna grabs her toothbrush from her bag, unlocks the door and quietly slides into the bathroom. A few minutes later she returns, softly clicking the door closed behind her.

“Hey there…” Tristan smiles sitting in the middle of the bed, his legs crossed in front of him, a small box with a shiny red bow on top sitting on the pillow next to him. “Now, usually we exchange one gift on Christmas Eve with everyone, but I couldn’t wait.”

“Don’t break tradition just because Tristan,” Shayna grins as she puts her toothbrush back in the bag in her suitcase.

“Well of course there is more where this came from, but I just wanted to give you this one now,” he pats the mattress next to him. “You don’t have to give me yours, just wait until later.”

Shayna slides on the bed next to him holding her hand out to him as he places the small box on her palm. She grins taking it popping the lid off of it quickly revealing a Tiffany colored box. She flips the original box over dropping the blue box to the bed. “Man, they must love you over there by now.“ she giggles opening the box.

“Mmm, yeah. I’m going to be on Oliver status soon, I hear there’s a loyalty program,” he chuckles to himself as he watches her pull the small velvet bag out of the box.

“Doubtful on that. That ring was obnoxiously priced. I would never….. Oh… Ohhhh Tristan….” Shayna tips the small bag, the contents spilling into her hand. Two silver hearts on a delicate silver chain drop out. She turns them each over inspecting the markings, one engraved with an S, the other with a T. Her face lights up as she looks up at him. “This is so freaking amazing!” She climbs across his legs, straddling his lap as she wraps her arms around his neck, the necklace clutched in her hand. “You’re the best ever!”

He kisses her softly on the lips. “Merry Christmas, Shayna….”

“Merry Christmas, Tristan.” she kisses him again. “I feel like I need to give you something now.”

“Nope, don’t worry about it. Tomorrow with the family,” Tristan smiles turning with her to lay them down. “Time to go to sleep.” He leans over to shut the lamp off next to them as they slide under the comforter. “Good night Shayna. Love you.”

“Love you too Tristan. Good night.” Shayna snuggles in next to him.

****  
  


*******

“Presents! Presents!” Greyson sits on the floor in the den in front of the tree, his eyes wide as he looks at the gifts wrapped up on the floor.

“Alright little man, we’re getting there. We just need for everyone else to get in here,” Tristan sits in the armchair closest to the tree.

“Tree, now? Peeeeeze now?” Greyson smiles at him sweetly.

“You’re going to fall for that one?” Shayna laughs sitting on the armrest of Tristan’s chair taking a  sip of her drink. “Greyson, he doesn’t even fall for that from me…” Tristan grabs at her, pulling her on to his lap, his fingers tickling her side. “Wait, wait, let me put the drink down first!” She leans over putting the glass on to the side table with the lamp trying to stand up.

“Oh no you don’t. Greyson! Greyson, Say’s trying to get away from the tickle monster! You going to help her?” Tristan looks to Greyson on the floor, his hand around Shayna’s arm.

Greyson hesitates at first looking at both of them. Shayna starts giggling as Tristan pulls her down to him, tickles her harder. “No Tree! No tickle!” Greyson jumps up climbing onto the chair with them pulling on Tristan’s hand.

“Yes tickle, tickle her Greyson! Get Say!” Tristan urges Greyson. Greyson starts laughing as he pokes at Shayna’s stomach gently at first. “Get her!”

“Say! I tickle you!” Greyson laughs climbing on her as he pokes at her with his little fingers.

“Oh no! Not Greyson too!” Shayna mock whines, pretending to fight them off.

Marc walks in watching the three of them wiggle around in the large armchair as he snaps a few pictures before he speaks up. “Alright you animals, who’s ready for some gifts?”

Greyson squeals trying to climb off Shayna. “Easy there Greyson!” Shayna picks him up placing him on the floor.

“We go first!” Tristan yells out reaching over the arm of the chair to grab a box. “This is for Greyson.”

“ME!!!” Greyson holds his hands out taking the box from Tristan, instantly ripping at the paper around the box. He looks up at them as he reveals a white clothing box, his eyes confused.

“Inside the box!” Shayna laughs watching him sit at her feet.

Greyson inspects the box finding the opening as he tears at it, throwing the box to the side, the tissue papered lump falling out to the floor. He pulls apart the tissue paper with ease, a red Scarlet jersey with DENIAU stitched on the back sits neatly folded in between. His eyes go wide as he unfolds it holding it up. “TREE! HOCKEY!” he stands on wobbly feet waving the jersey in the air.

“You gave him your jersey?” Marc laughs taking it from Greyson.

“No, I did. It has a number 1 on it… not Tristan’s. He told me how much he loves watching Tristan on tv. Plus it goes with something else.” Shayna grins watching as Greyson insists Marc put the jersey on right away.

“Ok, Shayna next!” Helene stands pulling a silver box with a white bow from under the tree. “Well it’s for both Shayna and Tristan, but a little something extra for Shayna. We didn’t know what to get you and Tristan was no help…” Helene smiles handing the box over to Shayna.

“You guys didn’t have to do that…” Shayna blushes as she accepts the shiny box from Helene. “Such a pretty bow!” she carefully unties the bow placing the ribbon next to her on Tristan’s lap. He looks at her with a raised eyebrow. “I like it, just leave it, jeez….” she rolls her eyes at him as she takes the top of the box off. Digging around she finds a white card in the middle. “Dear Shayna and Tristan,” she holds the card over her shoulder before she continues reading. “Merry Christmas! Hope you two will enjoy a little vacation to somewhere a little warmer. It doesn’t have exact dates on it but hopefully it can be sooner rather than later. With Love, Max and Helene” Shayna puts the card down as she moves some of the tissue paper around in the box to find a round lump of paper and a small picture of  beach with a villa on it. She rips apart the paper neatly revealing a small snowglobe of beach, the words “Hawaii” scrawled across the bottom of it.

Tristan looks over her shoulder, his jaw dropping as Shayna holds up the snow globe for him. “Mom, Dad…. you guys are crazy! A trip to Hawaii?”

Helene smiles hugging Max’s side “We just wanted to do something special for you both. I know we haven’t really known you long Shayna, but anyone who can make Tristan as happy as you have, you deserve it. Also when you go, I’ll give you the specifics but there will also be a spa day for you since Tristan has other gifts. The two of you are just so happy together, it makes us so happy…  And before you two say anything…” Helene steps back to the tree, pulling out a slightly larger box and handing it to Aimee.

Aimee nods taking the box from her pulling it apart less neatly than Shayna. A similar white card sits on top of large amount of tissue paper just inside. “Marc, Aimee and Greyson, Merry Christmas! A magical family vacation is just what you guys need… Love always, Meme and Pepe” Aimee reads out loud grinning as she pushes the paper to the side pulling out a small pair of Mickey Mouse ears, Greyson’s name stitched on the back and a picture of Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel. “We’re going to Disney World! Oh my god!”

“Mickey!” Greyson screams jumping at Aimee for the hat as she places it on his head.

“This is out of control!” Marc looks at the picture from the box, standing to hug his parents. “I can’t believe you two.”

“I am completely speechless!” Shayna giggles shaking the snow globe in her hand. “Thank you both so much.”

Tristan slides out from under Shayna standing to hug his parents next. “You guys really didn’t have to do this. It’s honestly too much…”

“Nonsense, you two should go have fun in some warmer weather! It rains a lot in Seattle. And it’s just a little nudge to you Tristan, don’t let that one get away.” Max hugs Tristan nodding at Shayna.

Shayna hugs each of them after Tristan. “Seriously, this is so awesome of you guys. You don’t even know me.”

“It’s nothing, sweetheart,” Helene grins giving her a big hug.

“So this must be the year of trips,” Tristan calls out from beside the tree holding two boxes. He gives a green one to Marc, a red one to Max. Each of them tear at the paper and box pulling out a Seattle Scarlet glossy folder.

“Suprise! You’re all coming to Seattle!” Max reads the front of the folder.

“Yeah, I know you guys each come out to see me, but this time we arranged it for everyone to come, even Greyson. We got a suite at the game for you guys, two awesome hotel suites in a hotel by us, we’re going to have dinner together and do some sightseeing around Seattle,” Tristan excitedly describes the itinerary in the folders as they look through them.

“Vacations for everyone!” Marc laughs handing the folder to Aimee. “I get the jersey now.”

Shayna bends down grabbing a small dark grey box with a silver bow out from under the tree. She stands holding the box out in front of her as she turns to Tristan sitting in the armchair.

“A present for me?” he smiles holding his hand out to take it from her. "I hope you didn't go crazy!" He pulls at the bow, ripping the paper off. "No, you didn't!" His eyes go wide taking in the logo on the black box as he opens it. "Shayna... It's the Tissot I was looking at! How did you kno--- Olls. What a dick!"

Shayna grins watching him pull the black watch from the box, undoing the watch he had on already. "So he told me you were looking at it the other day when you were out. You can't fault him for helping a girl out."

"I was going back for this when we got home. Shayna, are you crazy? This was like $900...." He looks at her with a pout. "This is honestly too much."

"Did you get me anything else?" Shayna raises her eyebrow with her hands on her hips.

Tristan smirks as he secures the watch to his wrist holding it out to look at it. He smiles as he looks up at Shayna. "Of course I did." He slides to the front of the chair, reaching out under the tree pulling a small purple box from under it. He stands up in front of her, grabbing her hand, putting the small box on her palm as he kisses her forehead.

Shayna rips at the small amount of paper on the box, a blue Tiffany box below it. “Are you for real with this?” she giggles.

“Tiffanys? Jealous….” Aimee slaps Marc’s arm trying to get his attention. “You see that, you should take notes. Good job Tristan.”

Shayna opens the box pulling out the small pouch loosening the strings as she tips it into her hand. A silver and diamond round lock slides out. “OH MY GOD….”

Aimee stands looking into Shayna’s hand, “Holy crap, diamonds too? Jesus Tristan, you totally have it bad!” he laughs at him as she takes her seat next to Marc. “You made her cry!”

Shayna wipes at her eyes clutching the lock in her palm as she grabs at Tristan, hugging him aggressively. “You…. are out of control,” she sniffles into his black henley.

He cups her face in his hands tilting her head up to face him, “You deserve it.” He gives her a soft, quick kiss on her lips, his thumbs wiping under her eyes. “No tears. it’s Christmas.”

“Honestly, you’re the best ever.” she giggles dropping the box to the seat behind him as she lets him unhook her one necklace. She slides the lock on next to the key before securing it back on her neck.

“Tristan, that is absolutely beautiful,” Helene looks at Shayna’s necklaces. “Very pretty.”

“Way to set the bar high,” Marc rolls his eyes as he opens a box from his parents.

“Whatever,” Tristan grins as he bends down pulling another box out. “Greyson, hey buddy! Here’s another one!”

******

The next morning Shayna sits on the den sofa, a cup of tea in her hands, Lexi curled up under her feet chewing on a chew toy as she waits for Tristan to return with the plastic garbage bag.

“Aww, my girls are waiting for me.” Tristan strolls in with a big grin, stopping briefly to pull his phone out snapping a picture before Lexi jumps up. “Ok, easy, easy. You ready for more presents?” Tristan looks over at Shayna, his red flannel pajama pants dropping low as he sits down on the floor in front of the tree tossing the plastic bag on the table as he pets the dog to calm her down.

“Did you switch places with Greyson? You’re so excited.” Shayna laughs placing her cup on the table in front of her as she slides around it to the floor to sit next to him.

“The two of you look so adorable sitting there… don’t move. Who has a camera?” Helene stands at the doorway watching them. Lexi takes off to her, passing her completely out the doorway at the sound of the garage door beeping.

Shayna reaches into her sweatshirt pocket pulling her phone out, unlocking it as she kneels up handing it over to her. “Here you go,” she sits back down next to Tristan giving him a smile.

“OK, so look at the tree like you just were…. and now maybe look at each other!” Helene chuckles, the sound of the shutter clicking loudly as she snaps picture after picture. “Oh these are so cute. Did you both dress to match each other?”

“Mom, I think you got enough,” Tristan looks over his shoulder at her holding his hand out for the phone.

“One more! Both of you look at me… Yes, like that!” she snaps one more picture. She looks at it with a satisfied smile handing the phone back to Shayna. “I’d like a copy of that last one. I love it. Have fun opening your gifts. We’re gonna head over to have breakfast with Marc and Aimee. We’ll be back in about an hour or so.” Helene waves to them as she walks back out of the room down the hall.

Shayna laughs as she swipes through the pictures Helene just took. “This is a really good one,” she points to the last one.

“We’ll have to print it,” Tristan looks quickly as he leans down pulling some boxes out from under the tree. “Now, I promise they’re not as fancy as your big gift from last night.”

“Same. Nothing too crazy,” Shayna nods at him as she pushes a few boxes to him. She pulls the first box from him to her ripping at the paper as he does the same next to her.

“Oh awesome, a dress shirt and tie,” Tristan pushes back the tissue paper looking down into the box.

“I sure hope that’s not disappointment on your face otherwise the next like 4 are going to be shit gifts,” Shayna wrinkles her nose at him stopping mid rip of the box in front of her.

“No, it’s not. I love this… You’re dressing me now. I like it. Just putting your claim on me.” Tristan chuckles as he folds the paper back in place, sliding the lid back on top placing it next to him. “So the next 4?” he shakes the next box in the stack.

“Shut up and just open them…” Shayna laughs as she continues on the box in front of her. “YES! YES! How did you know I wanted these shirts from Pink?” she tears through the tissue holding up the shirts one at a time.

“Just a good guess?” Tristan grins.

“Faith?”

“Maybe… you own just about everything they have,” he shrugs at her as he pulls open the box in front of him.

A few pairs of shoes, tons of clothing, a pair of hockey gloves, a football jersey and twenty minutes later, Shayna drops back into the ripped up wrapping paper on the den floor with a crunch.

“That was fun. I can’t believe you actually bought me a pair of Loubs…” Shayna hugs the box to her chest.

“I expect to see those on all of the time regardless of clothing or non clothing options…” Tristan smirks laying down next to her, his elbow propped up cradling his head as his free hand draws circles on the exposed skin of her hip where her sweatshirt rode up.

“Should probably clean this up before your parents get home,” Shayna rests the box on her stomach as she picks up some random scraps of paper, dropping them on to Tristan.

Tristan brushes off the pieces of paper to the floor next to him. He grabs the shoe box from Shayna’s stomach sliding it across the floor as he leans over her, his hands on either side of upper body.

“Oh no you don’t… not here.” Shayna smirks looking up at him allowing him to settle between her legs.

“Shayna, I am appalled. In the den?” Tristan leans down placing a kiss to her lips. “Is that all you think about? Have I made you…” he rolls his pajama clad hips against her. “...insatiable?”

Shayna bites her lip trying to hold in a giggle as she looks up at him, his blue eyes clear and amused, “Yes, I mean no… maybe… Ughhh, can you blame me?”

“That means a lot to me that I can just make you crazy like that,” he laughs as he pushes himself up off of her. “But no, you are right, not here. We need to clean this up.” He stands up holding his hand out to help her up. They crash together as she hops up quickly, her arms wrapping around his midsection as she looks up at him, her chin on his chest. “You’re so adorable…” he cups her face looking down at her. “I love you so much.”

Shayna grins, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks.”I love you too, Tristan.”  


	24. I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's still Christmas! Faith gets a fun surprise... Let's meet the Morenos!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a song obviously, unless you live under a rock. It's kinda a clever play on what goes on in this chapter ;) 
> 
> Again, hello to all the readers. Hope you guys are enjoying the story. Kudos and comments are always appreciated!

Faith stirs with a yawn as the sounds of chatter and laughter echo up through the loft. Pushing herself up from bed she makes her way to the edge of the stairs looking downward. Congregating in the living room are about a dozen people, none of whom Faith recognized. Rubbing a hand over her sleepy face she walks back over to the bed, sitting down gently on the edge. Grabbing her phone off the nightstand she texts Oliver,

**Faith (8:25am):** _The bed is empty and our living room is full of loud people..._

**Oliver (8:26am): I'll be right up.**

A few minutes later Faith hears footsteps coming up the loft stairs. Oliver walks over to her, his face serious and tight lipped. It was obvious to Faith something was bothering him.

"You're upset. What happened?" Faith frowns patting the mattress next to her.

Oliver sits next to her with a sigh, reaching for her hand. "Well...you've been asking to meet my family… They’re here, Surprise?"

"Your FAMILY is here?” Faith’s eyes go wide. “I thought they were all doing different things for Christmas? They're all here. Who's even down there? Oh my god." She flops back on the bed with a sigh covering her face with her hands.

"I know. I know. I didn't know they were coming. I just woke up a little while ago to a call from my dad. He apparently put all this together to surprise us...they meant well." Oliver frowns down at her, rubbing a hand gently over her belly, "don't be upset, stress isn't good for the little one..."

"Ollie it's Christmas Eve. We aren't prepared for 100 houseguests! I thought we were just gonna have a quiet day together and spend the night in." Faith rubs her hands over her face. "I'm so fat right now too, I don't want your family to see me like this."

A smile spreads across Oliver's face, his hand still resting lightly on her belly, "you're not fat, you're pregnant and beautiful and look unbelievably sexy with this little bump."

Faith places her hand atop his, "I guess I should get dressed and get downstairs...and meet your family." She pushes herself up off the bed walking over to the dresser, pulling out some clothes.

"And I have to warn you..." Oliver looks over to her with sad eyes, "Ronni and Tali are still friendly with Sophia.”

Faith stops, turning her head towards him, “Great, so I’m the bitch that took Sophie’s place?” She hung her head with a sigh, “I’m going to shower. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll drown in there…” She pushes the bathroom door open before slamming it closed behind her.

Turning on the water, Faith pulls out her phone dialing Shayna’s number.

“Bonjour, Montreal tourism….” Shayna laughs into the phone. “Uh and some other random French…”

“Hi, yes, this is Hell calling, how do I book a vacation?” Faith huffs, plopping down on the toilet. “Why aren’t you here…”

“Because I believe you said it would be a good idea to send me to this god forsaken fucking frozen tundra for the holiday. Do you know that it’s like negative 10 with the windchill? Who the fuck can stand this? Hold on…” Shayna shuffles the phone. “Had to get up from the couch… Tristan was looking at me weird.”

“No offence, but there are like 100 Moreno’s in my livingroom, I don’t care about the Tundra.” Faith whines, “They just...SHOWED UP. And apparently, two of Ollie’s sisters are butthurt about the fucking bottle blonde bitch. Can’t wait to meet them!”

“Merry Christmas! Did Oliver even know they were coming? And eww, fuck that.” Shayna scoffs. “That’s ridiculous.”

“His dad called him earlier this morning I guess and was like, ‘oh hey, surprise we’re outside.’, I’m hiding in the bathroom...I don’t want to deal with all this right now. I feel like shit, im probably going to throw up soon, and I just want to cuddle with Olls.” Faith stood from the toilet, cracking the door to the bathroom, listening to the commotion from downstairs. “I’m intimidated, Shay. There’s gotta be a dozen of them, at least.”

“That is a lot to take on in one shot… a dozen?  Jesus. That’s a big condo, but not that big.”

“His parents, three sisters, his brother, some spouses, and 4 kids… I’m jumping off the roof…” Faith closes the door again with a soft click, “I should go shower, but if I don’t text you later, I either killed myself, or they ate me alive.”

“Well… if I don’t turn into a popsicle I’ll text you. Hang in there booboo! Love you."

"Love you too," Faith ends the call, setting her phone on the counter. She jumps into the shower before throwing on some clothes. About 15 minutes pass before she tentatively makes her way down the stairs. She notices that the room was emptier than before, but there were still several pairs of eyes on her as she descends.

Oliver jumps up from his spot on the sofa making his way over to her with a smile, "You look beautiful. It'll be fine, just relax." He snakes an arm around her as they walk over towards his family.

"You must be Faith, I’m Carol, Ollie’s Mom!”  Carol Moreno walks over to greet Faith with open arms as they approach the living room.

“Mrs. Moreno, it’s so nice to finally meet you! I’ve heard so much about you from Oliver!” Faith smiles giving her a tight hug. “I’m sorry I’m so late to the party, I didn’t know everyone was down here.”

“Oh it’s fine, sweetie. No need to apologize. Diego and I wanted to surprise you kids for the holidays. We know how crazy Oliver’s schedule can be, and holidays are always hard for us. We made some calls, got all the kids together, and here we are!” Carol beams, “Come, let me introduce you to everyone!” Carol puts a hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards the sofas.

Carol walks Faith over to the sectional where a handful of people were silently staring up her her. She stops in front of an older man, looking to be in his 60’s, a head of grey hair sitting below his Scarlet baseball cap. “Faith, sweetheart, this is my husband, Diego.” He stood from the sofa, showcasing a similar build to Oliver. “It’s lovely to meet you, dear. ” Diego smiles,  extending a hand to her.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Moreno.” Faith shakes his hand with a smile before Carol shoos her along down the sofa.

Carol stops in front of a couple sitting back into the plush sofa, struggling to entertain their little boy with an ipad. “Faith, this is Oliver’s second oldest sister, Talia, her husband David and their son, Jacob. Anna, their 6 month old, is napping back in the bedroom.” Talia looks up with a small smile, running her hand over the brown mop of hair sitting atop the little boys head. "Jake, can you say hi to Uncle Ollie's friend, miss Faith?"

Faith crouches down to his level, "Hi Jake." She gives him a smile, gently placing her hand on one of his feet giving it a little wiggle.  "It's very nice to meet you."

The little boy looks up at Faith with wide eyes and a bashful smile. He couldn't have been more than two, his fingers stuffed in his mouth and a small blue and yellow blanket securely clenched in his opposite fist. He quickly turns his head, shyly burying his face in Talia's shoulder.

"He's very shy around strangers," David smiles, rubbing his back with a few soft pats. "It's nice to meet you, Faith."

"You too," Faith chuckles as Jake turns his head slightly, a smile creeping across his face before burying his head back in Talias arms, "it's okay buddy, we can say hi later."

"Come, sweetheart..." Carol puts a hand on her shoulder, moving her along to another couple perched on the loveseat. "This is Ollie's oldest sister, Veronica, everyone calls her Ronni though, and her husband Pete.  Their boys, Christopher and Jordan, are in the kitchen with Gabby.”  

Faith smiles with a small wave, "it's nice to finally meet you guys, I'm glad you could make it out here!"

Veronica nods with a fake smile, obviously disinterested, "Oh yeah, it's always nice when we all pack up our lives to come see our precious baby brother. God forbid he ever comes to see US."

"Ronni..." Carol gives her a stern look, "don't start this again. You know he can't help that his career has limitations..."

"At least Dallas didn't suck. He had to come crawling back to this dump." Ronni rolls her eyes with a frustrated huff. "Thanks Oll's!"

Pete sits quietly, giving Faith a sympathetic look. She nods at him with a small smile. "Ok well...yeah, nice meeting you." She quickly moves on from the love seat, running a hand through her hair. She walks across the room towards the stairs of the loft, only to be nearly run over by two boys, probably between 6 and 8, being chased by Oliver  each with nerf guns. Stopping abruptly with a chuckle she lets them pass, intercepting Oliver on the way. "So this is what I have to look forward to?" She mumbles quietly with a smirk.

"Only if it's a boy!" He kisses her cheek with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I never lose a nerf war." He takes off with a grin across the room after the boys.

Faith walks into the kitchen to grab a drink, finding two more family members sitting quietly at the breakfast bar.

Looking up from her book, Gabriella closes the page slowly. "You're Faith...right?"

Faith nods leaning on the edge of the counter, "Yep, that's me...and you're Gabby?"

Gabriella shakes her head pointing to her brother, "and this is Chase...we ate your cereal, Ollie said it was ok."

Faith smiles with a nod, "of course that's ok, you're welcome to anything in here. If there's anything you can't find, just ask me or Ollie and well get it for you, ok?"

Gabby nods her head, kicking Chase under the table, "say hello to Faith."

Chase looks up from his bowl briefly glancing over at Faith, "Hi Faith." His voice cracks at the tail end of her name causing his cheeks to flush before he looks back down at his bowl quickly.

"It's nice to meet you, Chase." Faith smiles, taking in how much he looks like a younger version of Oliver. She walks over to the fridge pulling out a bottle of water. "You guys want anything? I can make you some breakfast...?"

They both shook their heads, "no thanks, I'm ok." Chase mumbles quietly before standing from his stool walking into the other room.

"He's not a weirdo or anything," Gabby chuckles. "Girls just make him nervous...he's going through that awkward teenager crap."

Faith sits next to her in the newly vacated seat, "how old is he?"

"Sixteen...but you know how being a teenager is. It's hard on him. Especially in a house of girls." Gabby shrugs. "I try to talk to him but he keeps to himself mostly. I told him he should call Olls, but he doesn't want to be a nag. And he sure as shit won't talk to dad."

Faith pouts, "that's so sad. Ollie wouldn't think he's a nag. I bet he would love to be more involved.... I'll have him talk to him." Faith smiles at her

"I think Chase would love that." Gabby pushes the bowl back on the countertop. "I really miss him you know...it's not the same anymore."

"What do you mean?" Faith leans against the counter, resting her chin on her palm.

"Well you know. We used to be a family. Then Ronni got married and moved away. Then Ollie got drafted and Tali got married." Gabby shrugs playing with the charm on her bracelet. "Now it's just me and Chase at home....At least Tali stops by every once in a while. We only ever see Ronni on holidays and birthdays. She's too busy with her kids and her perfect life. Honestly, she's more of a pain in the ass than is worth the hassle. But it's hard that we never see Ollie anymore...it's just like we stopped being a family."

“There you are,” Oliver smiles as he walks into the kitchen, placing a kiss on Faith’s cheek. “I was wondering where you two were hiding out.”

“I’ve been in here all morning…” Gabby rolls her eyes at him with a shrug, “We were just talking about Chase anyway.”

“Yeah, sweetie, Gabby was telling me he’s really been struggling recently.” Faith frowns sliding an arm around him, “he could really use some boy time this weekend while he’s in town..”

Oliver smiles, “I’d really like that. He’s been kinda keeping to himself lately, thought maybe it was just a phase, but yeah, I’ll definitely talk to him.”

“You know, sometimes I get really mad at you.” Gabby sits back on her stool, crossing her arms across her chest. “Like, really REALLY mad at you.”

“Mad at me?” Oliver raises an eyebrow, “what did I do now?”

“Because Oliver, it feels like sometimes you just stopped caring about us. I know you didn’t, and I feel bad feeling like that, but I miss you.  When you were in Dallas you would call us, and come visit and stuff. We haven’t seen you since Jake’s birthday.” Gabby frowns at him. “I thought I was your favorite sister, and I haven’t talked to you in forever. You didn’t even tell me you were getting married.”

“Gabs…” Oliver sighs rubbing his hand over the back of his neck before walking over and giving her a hug. “I never stopped caring. I love you… I just get caught up in things here. Between everything going on with the Scarlet, and traveling, and trying to spend time with Faith… I just get distracted. I promise I’ll try harder.” He gives her a squeeze before letting go with a smile. “And any time you want to come up here, you know you’re always ALWAYS welcome. Even if I’m not here, you can come whenever you want.”

“And that…” Gabby points to Faith’s hand, which was wrapped around her water bottle, her engagement ring glimmering.

“That…” A sheepish grin spread across his face, “no one knows about yet.. it just happened a few days ago, and we haven’t had a chance to tell anyone yet.”

“You know Ronni is gonna go ballistic, right?”

“It’s not up to her, it’s up to me.” Oliver shakes his head, “but why do you say that?”

“Ugh, you know damn well why, Ollie.” Gabby groans, annoyed. “Don’t make me talk about IT.”

“Look, just because she’s friends with her doesn’t mean she gets any say in my life.” Oliver snaps, getting visible irritated.

“Ollie…” Faith puts a hand on his back gently, giving it a rub. “It’s okay...just calm down.”

“Don’t kill the messenger,” Gabby holds up her hands, “I’m personally ecstatic that you ditched that twit. I like this one…” she looks to Faith, “you seem kind, and smart, and like you really care about him.”

Faith smiles, her arm sliding around Oliver’s waist. “Thank you… I do really care about him.”

Gabby nods, “Soph was just a bitch. To everyone… I have no idea how you put up with her,” she rolls her eyes, pulling out her cell phone. “But anyway, you better tell mom and dad before they figure it out. Mom’ll be crushed you didn’t tell her.”

“I’ll tell everyone tonight…”

“Good...now go talk to Chase. He’s miserable.” Gabby shoos him, texting away on her cell phone.

Oliver gets up from the counter, giving Faith’s hand a squeeze before heading off to find Chase. He walks down the hallway towards the guest rooms, peeking his head into each of the rooms. Oliver pushes the door open to the third room down the hall finding Chase laying on his stomach, sprawled out on the guest bed, his head buried in his DS3 XL, and a pair of earbuds stuffed in his ears. He enters the room, pushing the door closed behind him, “Hey bud!” He smiles flopping himself down on the bed next to him.

Chase shifts his eyes from the game,  momentarily looking over at Oliver before pulling his head phones down from his ears, draping them across his neck and looking back at the tiny screen. “Hi.”

“How's it going? I'm glad you're here, I've really missed you! I think you're finally taller than me now..." Oliver chuckles, trying to get a rise out of him.

"Yeah probably. Doesn't mean much though." Chase closes the lid of the game pulling the headphones from around his neck, throwing them both on the side table. "Did mom send you in here or something? I don't need a peptalk Olls, I'm fine."

"No, mom didn't send me in here. And I'm not giving you a peptalk. I'm just...talking? You're my little brother and I've missed you. I know I don't qualify for the big brother of the year award or anything but I love you Ace, and I wanna know what's going on with you. You're a junior in high school, that's a crazy year. I know you're still playing hockey, and I'm sure you're looking at schools...and girls..."

Chase chuckles shaking his head diverting his eyes to the floor as his cheeks turn pink.

"Ohhhhhh I take it that means yes?" Oliver smirks raising an eyebrow at him. "What's her name?"

"There's no girls..." Chase laughs nervously trying to change the subject.

"Bullshit, I know that look." Oliver nudges his arm with a smile, "Cmon, what's her name? Is she hot? Someone from school?"

"Ollie, God!" Chase's voice cracks with a whine as he buries his face into the comforter on the bed. "Yeah, she's really hot."

"Oh? What was that?" Oliver pokes at his side, "I can't hear you in there."

"I said she's Hot." Chase whines pulling his face up from the blanket. "Ok? You happy?" He laughs running his hand over his face. "God you always have to embarrass me, don't you?"

Oliver smirks nudging his side again, "oh come on Ace, why are you embarrassed? This is ME were talking about here."

"Fine. Yes. She's hot. Ok? Really, really hot."

"What's her name? How did you meet? Are you friends with her?" Oliver peppers him with questions, trying to get him to open up.

"Her names Bailey. We go to school together, she's from Kentucky originally but moved a few houses away from us last year. She's shorter than me, straight blonde hair..." Chase describes the girl with a star struck look on his face.

"OHH cute blonde with an accent. Yeah, I can understand that... Do you talk to her at all".   

Chase shifts nervously next to him, "Yeahhhhh....we're, uh, friends I guess..."

"You're, uh, friends, you guess?" Oliver gives him a look mimicking his speech. "Spill."

"I mean, we've hooked up a few times, but it's not like she's my girlfriend or anything. We just hang out and stuff." Chase shrugs nonchalantly.

"Ok back up." Oliver props himself up on an elbow, "explain the 'hooked up a few times' and 'we hang out and stuff'. Let's clarify the 'stuff' part..."

"Ugh come on Ollie," Chase sits up dramatically. "I don't want to talk about this with you."

Oliver smirks, "I could go get mom and dad...I'm sure they'd love this convo instead..."

"No!" Chase speaks quickly. "You suck. FINE I'll tell you. You were sixteen like a hundred years ago. I bet you never had to justify your actions." He whines crossing his arms.  

"Whoa whoa whoa. First of all, it's only been about 80 years since I was sixteen, thank you very much." Oliver shoves him with a smirk. "Second of all I'm not judging you Ace, it's just one of those unwritten big brother rules, I need to know everything that you're doing at all times. And lastly, I WISH I had someone to talk to when I was your age. Someone to answer my questions or just to tell shit to...you know." Oliver shrugs at him, "I'm not mom and dad. Or Tali or Ronni or Gabs. I understand stuff they never will...and I'm not judging you Acer, you know that."

"We just...make out and stuff." He shrugs avoiding Oliver's eyes.

"See. It's that 'and stuff' that I'm caught up on..."

"We're not having sex, if that's what you're getting at." Chase mumbles.

"Well, yeah that's part of what I was asking...but there's more to it than that, Chase." Oliver sits up pulling a leg under himself. "I'm not going to sit here and give you a sex talk. You're sixteen, I'm sure you know how all of that anatomy works by now..." he smirks "atleast I hope so..."

"OLLIE."

"IM JUST SAYIN!" Oliver chuckles, "but dude, just because something feels good doesn't always mean you should do it. Now look, I'm not trying to tell you what to do or not do, but if you're just randomly hooking up with her... You don't want that to get around, you know? You're a good kid, Ace. I know your hormones are all over the place.."

"OLIVER, please!"

"Dude just hear me out. If she was your girlfriend, that's one thing. But...don't just fool around with random girls. It makes you look bad." He puts a hand on his shoulder giving it a pat. "Trust me on that one."

"Ok fine. I won't hook up with her anymore, ok Dad?" Chase mocks him.

"You and I both know that's not gonna happen." Oliver laughs shaking his head, "Why not just ask her out?"

"Cuz..." Chase shrugs, "her parents won't let her. She's not allowed to date.."

"Yet you're still hooking up with her?" Oliver raises an eyebrow, "do I even wanna ask?"

"Yeah...the lattice in the back yard..." A sheepish grin spreads across his face, "thanks for showing me that."

"CHASE!" Oliver laughs, "I put that up for you that so Matt could sneak over after dinner and play video games. Not so girls could sneak into your bedroom!"

Chase shrugs, "I didn't hear any limitations when we discussed this. I mean we obviously can't do it at her house."

Oliver sighs rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "Just...no sex? You promise me?"

"NO Ollie. No sex."  Chase glares at him. "CHRIST. Rub it in...not all of us live with our super hot girlfriends."

Oliver raises an eyebrow with a smirk. "Oh? So you think Faith's super hot?"

"No." Chase mumbles quickly, his cheeks flushing. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh that's not what you meant?" Oliver chuckles in amusement. "Who else were you referring to, Ace? Hmm?" He shoves his shoulder.

Chase shoves him back, a smile spreading across his face, "shut up."

"You can think she's hot. She'd love that." Oliver grins.

"You can't tell her that!" Chase squeaks, "you won't tell her right?!"

"Hell yeah I am!" Oliver laughs as Chase lunges at him tackling him.

"Olllllllllieeee" Chase grumbles as they wrestle around. Eventually the pair tumbles to the floor with a loud thud causing them both to laugh.

A few seconds later Faith pushes the door open, "guys?" She spots the pair on the floor, a giggle escaping her lips. "Oh...I see." She crosses her arms leaning against the door frame.

"Hi baby," Oliver grins out of breath as he holds Chase in a headlock beneath him.

"Get off of me." Chase slaps at him, breaking free of his grip, scurrying across the room towards Faith.

Faith chuckles, "come here, you poor thing." She pulls Chase to her protectively. "You leave your poor brother alone, Oliver Scott, do you hear me?"

Chase gives Oliver a grin as he rests his head on Faith's chest giving her a hug. "Thanks Faith."

Oliver shook his head with a laugh, "get outta here, Ace, she's mine." He stands from the floor shooing Chase from her arms.

"If things don't work out...Ya know." Chase winks at Faith as he darts out of the room, narrowly avoiding a head slap from Oliver.

Faith laughs loudly at the two of them, bringing a hand to her mouth to quiet the sound. "I don't even want to know what the hell you two were talking about."

Oliver places a kiss on her lips with a smile. "Boy stuff."  

"Boy stuff...hmm." Faith nods, "I'm not even going to ask."

********

The shrill cries of a waking baby carry through the hallway causing a handful of heads to look up from the kitchen table.

“She’s up already?” Talia sighs resting her head back against the chair, closing her eyes. “She just went down…”

“Maybe shes just fussing…” David pats her leg, “give her a minute.”

Faith smiles at them, “I can go check on her if you’d like? You guys can have a break.”

Talia opens her eyes, looking over at Faith, “You wouldn’t mind?”

Faith shakes her head, standing from the table. “Not at all… I’ll be back in a minute.” She smiles before walking down the hallway, peeking into the guestroom, finding Anna crying miserably in her travel crib, one arm and one foot hanging out of the blankets. Faith walks over, rubbing her hand over her head gently. “Shhhh, it’s ok sweet girl” After a moment of trying to calm her in the crib, Faith scoops the baby up in her arms, cuddling Anna close to her body. “it’s ok Anna. It’s ok, you’re okay” She rubs her hand over the fuzzy material of her loose swaddle, tucking her exposed foot back under the blanket and patting her back gently. Anna calms almost instantly, her loud cries morphing into soft coos and gurgles. Faith lightly rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet, her hand still patting Anna’s little back and bottom as she smiles down at the tiny person in her arms, a flood of emotions coming over her. Hey eyes brim with tears at the thought that in a few months from now, she’d be doing this with Oliver and their own baby.

“You’re really good with her, you know.” Gabby speaks softly from the doorway behind where Faith was standing. “She’s normally never calm like this...always fussy.”

Faith swipes at her cheeks quickly before turning her head over her shoulder, “Gabby,” she smiles with glassy eyes, “you scared me.”

“You’re crying…” Gabby walks in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. “What’s the matter?”

“Nah nothing, I’m fine…something about babies just makes me all emotional.” Faith smiles, looking down at Anna who was slowly losing the battle to stay awake, her tiny eyes fighting to stay open.  Faith slows down her movements, holding her little hand, which had come free from the swaddle, delicately in her own, lightly rubbing her thumb over her tiny fingers. “She was crying because she was cold. She must have squirmed the swaddle loose and her little hands and feet were cold.”

 

After a few minutes, Gabby breaks the silence, “You’re gonna be a really great mom some day, Faith...you’re so good with her.”

Faith lets out a soft laugh, trying to blink back the rest of her tears, “thank you for saying that, I’m glad you think so.”

Gabby nods with a smile, standing from the bed and walking towards the door. “I’m gonna go help mom with lunch.”

“I’ll be out in a bit.” Faith calls after her with a nod,. Once Anna has succumb to sleep again Faith lays her gently back down in her crib, tucking her free arm snugly back into place in the blanket. She cranks the mini-mobile as a delicate chime sings softly through the room. Faith stands over the crib, watching her little chest rise and fall rhythmically as she sleeps. Every few minutes a soft whine escapes her tiny lips, bringing a smile to Faith’s face.

Faith jumps as a pair of arms slide around her from behind. “Jesus!” she gasps quietly, as she swats at Oliver’s hands, as he rests his chin on her shoulder.

His hands rest lightly on her belly as he presses his cheek against hers, speaking softly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you babe.” He stares down at Anna sleeping, wrapped in the pink and white blanket.. “She’s so tiny…” His fingers subconsciously rubbing back and forth over Faith’s stomach.

“She kicked out of her swaddle...thats why she was crying. But I tucked her back inside and she went right back to sleep.” Faith smiles resting her hands on his. “I was on my way back out...but I couldn’t stop watching her sleep.”

“Come on,” He kisses her cheek, “Let her sleep, you can play with her when she wakes up.” Oliver smiles, sliding his hand into hers giving her a tug towards the door. The pair walk out of the room, softly pulling the door behind them and heading back into the dining room.

“Everything ok?” Talia looks up to Faith and Oliver from her spot at the table.

Faith nods with a smile, “She’s fine...just kicked out of her swaddle, and her little arm and foot were out flapping around. Poor thing must have been cold, because once I tucked her back in she snuggled right up to me and fell back asleep.”

“See? I knew she was just fussing.” David smiles proudly patting Talia’s back, “She was so tired earlier, she’ll probably be down for a while. Thanks for looking in on her, Faith. I appreciate that.”

“Anytime.”

*********

The Moreno family sat together surrounding a long rectangular table in the back of Bone Point. After making a few calls, Faith was able to pull some strings and get them a dinner reservation for that evening.

"Isn't this nice?" Carol smiles at Diego as she pats his hand, "seeing all the kids together at the dinner table again."

Diego nods with a content look on his face, "seems the numbers have grown significantly though.” He lets out a chuckle taking a sip from his glass, "it's nice to have the family all together for a change."

Veronica scoffs under her breath, her hands wrapped around her cellphone, "too bad we're stuck in boring Seattle..."

“It may not seem like it, but Seattle is actually a lot of fun, theres tons of things to do and see. I’m sure we can find things that you guys would all love to do…” Faith smiles at her, trying to get her attention with no avail.

David interjects quickly, "I've never been up here before. It's a pretty interesting city. I'm looking forward to sight seeing over the next few days."

“I want to go to the space needle!” Jordan exclaims excitedly, looking up from his ipad.

“Me too!” Christopher chimes in with a toothless grin pushing a button on the screen, “and go to the aquarium!”

Faith giggles with a nod, “We can do all of that. AND if you’re good  maybe me and Uncle Ollie will take you to skyzone too so we-”

“Boys,” Veronica smiles at them, shooing them together, “Look at me and smile, Aunt Sophie want’s a picture of how handsome you look all dressed up! Jake, look at me! 1….2...”

“Cheee!” Jacob grins looking up from his crayons, squinting his eyes together.

“Really, Ronni?” Oliver glares at her from across the table, “It’s always something, isn’t it?”

“What?” Veronica shrugs innocently, tapping away at the keyboard on her cell phone.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” he shakes his head, “and what’s worse? You couldn’t care less.”

"Ollie..." Faith rubs has hand with a sigh. "It's ok.."

“Soph just wanted a picture of the kids, Oliver.” Veronica rolls her eyes at him, “it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah, Ronni, it IS a big deal. You just completely cut off Faith while she was in the middle of a sentence, and you had to throw out that you were sending it to ‘Aunt Sophie’. She’s not their Aunt, Veronica, and I’d appreciate it if you showed Faith the respect that she deserves.”

“Ok..now...Let’s just all calm down a bit.” Diego interjects, trying to break up the commotion. “Oliver, I’m sure Ronni didn’t mean anything by taking the picture of the boys…”

“Seriously, Dad?” Oliver looks over at him in disbelief, “She’s been a bitch since you guys got here.”

“Badword!” Jake covers his ears with a giggle.

“Nice.” Talia shakes her head shooting Oliver a look, “It’s ok Jake, Uncle Ollie’s sorry…” She pulls his hands away from his ear, fixing his bib on his chest.

“Sorry, Bud.” Oliver smiles, hitting himself in the head, causing the three boys to laugh.

“Look, lets just all relax. It’s Christmas Eve... “ Carol nods, “Let’s just enjoy being together as a family, ok?”

“Yippee...a big happy family.” Chase rolls his eyes from the end of the table, taking a bite of his roll.

“Enough,” Carol warns, “Or you can kiss the DS goodbye.”

“I didn’t even do anything!” Chase argues throwing his hands up in frustration, “Why do you always pick on ME?”

“Because you’re always sarcastic and negative.” Gabby shrugs from next to him.

“Shut up, Gabby, I am not.” Chase makes a face at her.

“Don’t tell your sister to shut up.” Diego scolds.

“Leave him alone, Dad.” Talia interjects, defending her brother.

“Who’s side are you on Tali?” Gabby glares at her, sitting up in her chair. “Thanks a lot…”

“Knock it off, Gabby, you started it by picking on Chase.” Veronica shakes her head

“YOU started this by bringing up Sophia!” Gabby points in disbelief.

“I thought I asked you to leave her out of this! She’s not part of this family.” Oliver grumbles turning in his chair towards Gabby.

“Yeah? And who’s fault is that.” Veronica raises an eyebrow, shooting Faith a look.

“Don’t you dare look at her,” Oliver snaps, “She has nothing to do with this.”

“We’ll at least we got to see you when Sophia was around!” Talia shrugs, “now its like you don’t even exist. It’s always Faith this, and Scarlet that..”

“I moved 2,000 miles away, Tali!” Oliver groans shaking his head, “It’s like 5 hours by plane. When I was in Dallas, I was only a couple hours drive. What do you want from me?”

“Maybe if you cared a little more about this family, and stopped being so selfish!” Veronica spews bitterly, “but that’s a foreign concept for the prodigal son, now isn't it? It’s always about you and your needs, right, Oliver?”

“I’m sorry…” Faith interjects as she raises her hands, speaking up over the argument, “I don’t mean to butt in, I know that this is a family thing but, it’s pretty evident that you guys don’t like me. I’m not exactly sure why, seeing as you’ve known me for all of 8 hours, and neither one of you have taken the opportunity to ask anything about me....but that being said, I’m going to suggest that you just put your differences aside, or you’re going to be fighting about this for a LONG time. I love your brother, and he loves me, and quite frankly, I’m not looking for your approval.” Faith looks at Oliver briefly, before turning back to his sisters. “Your brother asked me to marry him and I said yes. We’re getting married and I’m going to be a part of your family. So you can hate me, you can hate him, do whatever it is that you feel like you need to do to make yourself happy. But I just hope you realize that I’m not going anywhere. I’ve already lost him once… I’ll be damned to let that happen a second time.” Faith pulls the napkin from her lap, setting it down on the table before standing from her chair before turning on her heel and walking out towards the lobby.

“THANKS.” He stares at his sisters in disgust, “Not exactly how we planned on sharing that with you guys. Great job, family.”  Oliver shakes his head sadly, standing from his chair walking out towards the lobby. “Faith...Faith, slow down.”

“I’m sorry, Olls.  I just couldn’t. For one more minute. Sit there and listen to that.” Faith puts her hand up halting him, taking a shaky breath, visibly worked up. “You know I’m not normally confrontational. I don’t know where all that came from. I just…” she shakes her head, “They’re acting like I ruined your family, and you know how emotional I am, and I don’t want to cause a scene.”

“I know, I know, it’s ok.” Oliver wraps his arms around her, pulling her close to him. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault, Faith.” He rubs her back lightly placing a kiss on the side of her head. “I’m so sorry they’re acting like this.”

“Its not your fault either. I just… I don’t know.” Faith sighs taking a step back. “I feel like I should just let you be with your family tonight..and tomorrow we can figure things out.”

Oliver shook his head, “No. That’s not acceptable.”

“Ollie…please”

“Faith, no. No! You’re my family. YOU and bubbles are my FAMILY. I’m not spending tonight without you.” Oliver insists, his hand locking onto hers firmly. “Either you’re staying, or WE are going. That’s up to you. I love you, and we’re doing this together, Faith.”

Faith sighs thinking things over carefully, shaking her head. “We need to stay. You’re family came in to see you, and I’m sure your parents are probably beside themselves right now…”

Oliver cups her face tenderly, placing a kiss on her lips. “You sure?”

She nods at him, “We have to go back....it’s the right thing to do.”

“Okay,” he laces his fingers with hers, giving her a small smile. “Love you, mama.”

Faith chuckles, “Love you too...but I’m not calling you daddy in public...it just sounds wrong.”

Oliver wiggles his eyebrows with a smirk, “so you’ll do it in private?”

“MOVE IT, Moreno.” Faith grins pointing back towards his family.

The pair walks back to the table hand in hand. Once they reach the table, Oliver pulls out Faith’s chair for her before pushing her in, then sitting next to her, his hand holding hers protectively.

Faith can feel 8 sets of eyes burning into her as she keeps her attention focused on the table, the silence deafening.

“None of you have anything to say…” Oliver looks between his sisters, his jaw clenched.

“Well, I’ll be honest Oliver, I’m really taken back that you let her speak to us the way she did. Who do you think you are to speak to us like that?” Veronica narrows her eyes at Faith from across the table.

“I’m a human being with feelings that doesn’t appreciate being disrespected.” Faith looks up from the table, her eyes dark. “I’m normally a pretty passive person, but honestly Veronica? I’ve had it with your condescending crap. You’re staying in OUR home, and you’ve been nothing but antagonistic since you got here. I’m very sorry that you don’t like me, or you wish that Sophia was still in Oliver’s life, or that you hate Seattle. But maybe for two minutes, instead of complaining about how hard these choices have been on you, you should think about what’s best for Oliver. Do you think not seeing his niece and nephews growing up is easy for him? Or being away from his family? Missing out on birthdays? Holidays? Missing seeing his siblings graduate college” she points towards Gabby, “or being the big brother?” she points at Chase. “You sit there carrying on about how Oliver doesn’t care about the family? What about you? Do you care about what’s best for HIM? You’re being so unimaginably selfish, I don’t understand how anyone can anyone be so spiteful towards their sibling. It’s disgraceful.” Faith crosses her arms, sitting back in the chair. “I may have been outspoken with what I said, and I certainly mean no disrespect to either of you,” she looks over to Diego and Carol, “but I love your son more than I can put into words, and I’m sorry, I’m not going to sit back and have either Oliver or I be walked upon.”

Diego sits back in his chair, a satisfied smile pressed to his lips. “Faith, I have to tell you. A lot of people have come and gone from around the Moreno dinner table over the years… not one of them has ever the balls to speak so freely in front of Carol and I. I really respect your honesty.”

“Dad!” Veronica huffs at him with a whine.

“That’s enough, Veronica Mae! Faith is right.” Diego warns, “If you’ve got nothing nice to say, than shut your mouth.”

Carol reaches over patting Faith’s shoulder with a smile. “As a mother, it warms my heart knowing how much you care for my Oliver, sweetheart.”

“He’s my whole world, Mrs. Moreno.” Faith says softly, a blush creeping up into her cheeks. “I don’t know what I’d do without him..”

“You’ll never have to worry about that,” Oliver smiles, giving her hand a squeeze.

“Speaking of which....you two...getting married?” A smile spreads across Carol’s face. “Really?”

“Really…" Oliver beams, sliding his arm around Faith. "I would have told you sooner, but it’s still kinda new. We’ve been trying to think of the perfect way to tell everyone…” Oliver makes a face, “Guess we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“We could have called, and we talked about it, but I really wanted to tell you in person…” Faith adds in with a smile. “Not exactly how we planned, but… the end result is the same. We’re getting married!"

Diego stands from the table, walking over to the two of them. Faith gets up from her chair, giving him a hug, “Welcome to the family, dear. Godspeed.”  He chuckles as he kisses her cheek. He releases Faith before giving Oliver a big hug. “I’m proud of you, son.” He smiles giving Oliver a few pats on the back. “Guess we all know the method behind the madness of coming back to Seattle.” Diego pats his shoulder with a wink before sitting back down.

“Dad that’s disgusting,” Gabby makes a face staring at them both. "But it's about time you said something, Mom look at her ring!!" she grins. "Ollie did good!"

Carol turns to Faith, who sticks out her hand with a grin.

Carol takes Faiths hand into her own, admiring her ring,shifting her eyes over to Oliver giving him a wide smile, "Oliver, this is beautiful."

"Yeah, I guess he did ok,” Faith smirks looking over her shoulder at Oliver, “picked it out all on his own.”

“To say I'm proud of you would be an understatement,” Carol chuckles. “We’ll I couldn’t be more thrilled for you two!”

*******

“Faith?” Talia calls out, as the group of them are walking to the cars after dinner. “Can we talk to you for a second?”

“Sure…” Faith looks up at Oliver briefly, “I’ll meet you at the car.” She places a kiss on his cheek gently, before walking over towards where Talia and Veronica were standing, “everything ok?”

“Look, Faith…” Talia sighs, “I’m really sorry. About what happened earlier.”

“Especially me.” Veronica mumbles quietly.

Faith shook her head forcing a smile, “You guys don’t have to do this...It’s not a-”

“No...we do.” Veronica cuts her off, “I’m really protective of Oliver…He’s my little brother, Faith. Especially since he’s never around anymore. I just want what’s best for him. When he was in Dallas, we got to see him. We knew what was going on.”

“We got to meet his girlfriends, he would see our kids...he was a part of our life. We had him back.” Talia adds, picking up where Veronica left off. “But being here in Seattle, it’s like he’s gone again. He’s happy here...without us.” She trails off sadly.

“I guess I’m jealous of you in a way.” Veronica shrugs, “You get him all to yourself. You don’t have to share him. He’s always around when you want one of his bear hugs.”

“Or you want someone to play a prank with…” Talia nods sadly.

“Or someone to level with you when you’re having a rough time…”

“Or when you want his pancakes in the morning…”

“You have all that…and we don’t.” Veronica sighs, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “But, I guess you were right. We are being selfish. We aren’t thinking about what Ollie needs in all of this.”

“You make him happy, Faith. We can all see that. He was never like this with Sophia. Sorry to bring her up again.” Talia makes a face with a shrug. “But Soph always came around with him, we got to know her, she got to know the kids...it was really hard for US when they broke up.”

“He knew she wasn’t right for him, and I get that, but it was hard. We didn’t only lose Sophia, we lost Olls again too. He came back here to Seattle, and he was gone again. I guess we stayed in touch with her because having her around was like having a piece of Ollie back.” Veronica stops at the car, leaning up against it. “I’m really sorry for what I said about you, Faith. You’ve been nothing but welcoming to us, and you didn’t deserve that.”

Talia nods in agreement. “I’m sorry too… Ollie’s really lucky to have someone that sticks up for him, and fights for your relationship like you did. I’m glad he found a good girl to take care of him.” She offers a smile, and holds out her hand. “Truce?”

Faith at this point is on the verge of tears. She gives her a nod pulling Talia in for a hug. “Truce.” After a few moments, she pulls back, turning to Veronica and hugging her as well. “Thank you for saying all of that. It’s been a really rough few months for us with Holidays and Family, and getting engaged, and we’ve honestly been talking about how we can do better. My parents live in Las Vegas, and I’m an only child. I miss my parents SO much, but we never get out to see them. I can’t imagine having siblings to miss, and nieces and nephews to miss. I know Oliver really misses all of you too. He talks about you guys all the time. Thats why we wanted to do Christmas with everyone.” She swipes at her eyes with a chuckle. “Sorry, I’m such a hot mess.”

Talia and Veronica both laugh, “Don’t be sorry. It’s good to know you care.” Talia smiles.

“I promise, we’ll try harder to be in touch and come visit everyone.” Faith looks between the girls. “Deal?”

“Deal.”

*******

**  
  
**

“What are we going to do about tomorrow morning?” Faith sighs crawling into bed with a pout curling up under the blankets. “The kids are going to be so disappointed when Santa didn’t bring them any presents.”

“I was thinking about that earlier,” Oliver sighs, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Part of me wants to get up at like, 4:30 and go to Walmart and get them all a bunch of shit. It’ll surprise everyone.” he chuckles placing a kiss on the side of her neck.

A wide grin spreads across her face,  “Do you want to? That would be so much fun, Olls. The kids would be so excited!”

“I’ll do it, if you want to? I guess I should get you something too, since I can’t give you what I really got you until they all leave.” Oliver smirks dragging his teeth across her skin gently, “people might get suspicious if I don’t have a present for you.”

“You don’t  have to buy me anything babe, I don’t need presents from you.” Faith looks over her shoulder at him, “don’t even get your hopes up with your kissy-licky-bitey shenanigans back there.”

“Faithy, come on, I’m sure it’s fine…it's Christmas." Oliver whines against her skin, as he nuzzles his nose into her hair. “I’ll be gentle...and go slow…I promise,” he pleads, placing a series of kisses along the back of her neck up to her ear. “You won’t even know I’m there..”

Faith couldn’t help but giggle as she turns onto her back, “Oh is that right?” She smirks shaking her head “… we haven’t talked to the doctor yet, Olls.” She pouts at him sticking out her bottom lip, “I just want to make sure we don’t do anything that could jeopardize the baby…”

Oliver looks down at her with disappointment in his eyes, before nodding his head. "Goodnight..." He mumbles as he places a kiss on her cheek, rolling over with his back to her.

"You're mad." Faith frowns staring at the ceiling.

"I'm not mad, Faith." Oliver sighs, "just go to sleep."

"You never sleep with your back to me..." She says sadly, her voice cracking. "Only when you're mad..."

"Baby, I'm not mad, I promise. I'm just...frustrated. Not frustrated with you...but in general. This is all new to me, to both of us, and I'm not allowed to touch you when I want you...and if you're within an arms length of me right now, I can't promise I'll keep my hands to myself. So, I'm facing this way."

Faith lets out a soft sigh, turning on her side to drape her arm around him pressing her lips to the back of his shoulder. "This isn't easy for me either, but we're going to figure it out and were gonna make it work. Together." She gives him a squeeze throwing her leg over top of his, climbing onto of him with a huff.

Oliver chuckles laying flat on his back, pulling her square to him. "Did you just try to climb over me?"

Faith smirks bending down pressing her lips against his slowly.

"Baby don't." Oliver pleads with her, "I can't.."

Faith smirks as she sits back in his lap, purposely pushing her ass against the growing bulge in his boxers, eliciting a groan from Oliver, "so I was thinking about this, while I was laying there pouting about disappointing you... "

"Faith, please...just go to bed."

Carefully swinging her legs off the side of the bed she stands, pulling her tanktop over her head, throwing it towards the corner of the room.

"Are you purposely trying to torture me? That's not nice, Faithy," Oliver narrows his eyes, trying not to stare at her exposed chest.

"Torture is such a negative word..." Faith smiles sweetly at him as she pushes her pajama shorts down her legs, kicking them to the corner as she stands butt naked in front of him. "Get up."

"Faith, what the hell are you doing?" He growls at her as he sits upright in bed, "this is really not funny anymore..."

"Get UP" she snaps at him quietly but firmly, pointing for him to get out of bed.

Oliver reluctantly throws the blankets back with a huff as he gets out of bed. "Ok Faith, I'm up. What?"

“First of all, keep your voice down, the kids are sleeping in the living room,” Faith grabs his hand walking with him over to the bathroom. "Second of all...It's the season of giving and I'm feeling generous. So if you would quit your sassypants attitude for two seconds, and just trust me, we're going to take a shower, and you of all people should know by now what that means."

Oliver stares at her blankly, his jaw hanging open. "But you said..."

"I have two hands and a mouth, Oliver." Faith pulls the lever, the water flowing freely from the dual shower heads, the glass enclosure slowly fogging up. “You just better keep it down, unless you want to explain to your nephews why you were moaning all night…”

A smile spreads slowly across Oliver’s face as he steps closer to Faith. “All night? What about you?”

“Well... we do have to get up early...so, maybe not all night.” She rests her arms around his shoulders, lightly rubbing at the back of his neck. “And don’t worry about me. Making you happy is enough for me.” She leans forward pressing her mouth to his, playfully nipping at his bottom lip as her fingers travel down his arms before skimming along the elastic waistband of his boxers, “can I unwrap my Christmas present yet?”

He nods in response, his arms instinctively cupping her face, giving her a deep kiss, his tongue quickly pushing past her lips. He guides her backwards, pinning her up against the wall, the tile cold against Faith’s hot skin causing her to gasp at the contact.

“Hey..this is about you. You keep those hands to yourself…” Faith giggles, shoving back at him. She swings the shower door open behind her, pushing him back under the jets of hot water. Closing the door behind her, she unpins her hair, letting the water soak into her curls. She runs her hands over his boxers, her fingers tracing over the hard bulge straining against the material, a mischievous smile pressed across her face.  “You bad, bad boy, you don’t wear clothes in the shower…” she dips her hand under the waistband which is now soaking wet, the material clinging to his body. Faith brings her mouth hard against his before she slowly peels the cotton away from his skin pushing them to the floor with a wet plop, her other hand wrapping firmly around his erection giving a hard squeeze.

A low groan escapes Oliver's lips as his body pushes forward against her palm. One of his hands tangling instantly in her hair, his fingers gripping and releasing at random, tugging forcefully at her long wet curls. His other arm hangs loosely at his side, pressing against the slick tile wall for support. Faith lets her fingers slide up and down his length slowly, not wanting to give him too much too fast. A little foreplay never hurt anyone.

Oliver breaks their kiss abruptly turning Faith away from him, his cock slipping free from her hand. He shoves her forward, pinning her up against the glass wall, the mixture of the cool glass and hot water wreaking havoc on her senses. Oliver dips his head down sucking hard on the side of her neck, his teeth sinking down with playful bites. “You wanna play the game, Faith. Let’s play…” He growls in her ear, before dragging his teeth over her earlobe, giving it a light pinch between his teeth. “I promise, I’ll win…”

“It’s been awhile since we’ve fooled around Olls…” Faith swallows hard, biting her lip as his hands reach around, massaging her breasts. “I just wanted to make sure it lasted for you... no game baby.”

“You’re still getting a taste of your own medicine,” he mumbles with a smirk as he rolls her nipples between the pads of his fingers causing Faith to gasp, fighting to keep her voice down. He pushes his hips forward, pressing his erection up against her ass, holding her hips to the glass. “Remember the first time I fucked you in here? Hmmm?” He gave a tug at her hair, her head falling back against him as he stared down at her. “I know you remember.”

Faith smirks up at him, “you had to carry me out because I couldn’t stand on my own two feet my legs were shaking so bad, how could I forget?”

Oliver leans forward pressing his mouth against hers. Faith turns in his arms wrapping her arms around his neck as they kiss. She pulls her head back briefly, her breathing shallow, “back up…” Oliver nods as he leans back against the shower wall, enjoying Faith’s hot pursuit on his body.

Faith giggles against his lips before she steps back with a smile. “Merry Christmas Oliver…” She leans forward again pressing her lips to his chest, flicking her tongue out against his skin, lapping at the beads of water as they drip down his tanned abdomen. She slowly drops down to her knees, her eyes glued to his, taking his erection in her hands, “so hard for me…”

Oliver leans his head back against the cool tile with a groan, his tongue pressing out slowly as he licks his lips, catching the drips of water as they roll off his mouth. He eyes her intently, watching her tease him under the hot spray. “God Faith, just fucking do it already.” he begs her, his hand reaching out to stroke her face gently. “Please baby, suck my cock. Put your mouth on me.”

Faith grins as she leans forward, flicking her tongue out over the tip, causing Oliver’s eyes to roll into the back of his head, a throaty moan escaping his lips.

“Shhhh, the kids will hear you. Keep it quiet, or no more tongue for you...” she smirks, before quickly sliding his length past her lips, taking him deep. Her hand strokes his length in rhythm as she bobs her head against his hips, her tongue pressing firmly against the underside of his cock.

“Mmm fuck yeah Faithy, just like that.” Oliver brings his hands up to the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her wet hair, struggling to keep his voice low. “You look so fucking hot right now.”

Releasing him from her mouth with a wet slurp Faith stares up at him, her eyes dark and wide, blinking away the water from the shower, her grip firm around his length. She slowly circles her thumb over his sensitive head, causing him to involuntarily twitch in her hands. “You have no idea how bad I want to fuck you right now...how much I want to lay you down and have my way with you.”

Oliver thrusts his hips forward towards her mouth, itching for contact. Faith knew he wouldn’t last, and she was determined to make the best of it. “Look how hard you are for me.” She smiles up at him, slowly leaning down, running her tongue up his length. “I bet you’re just throbbing aren’t you...” She lets her hand slide up and down his shaft a few times, teasing him.

“Come on Faith, please. Don't tease me like this…” Oliver breathes, his hand desperately trying to urge her head forward.

“You want...this?” Faith muses, taking his tip into her mouth, sucking down hard on him, her tongue flicking out playfully against the swollen skin before releasing him once again.

“Baby, I’m not gonna last if you keep doing that.” Oliver leans his head back struggling to keep quiet as he swallows hard, running his hand across his face to remove some of the excess water.

Faith holds her ground, taking his tip back between her lips, her tongue continuing her assault on the sensitive area, her hands stroking his length quickly.

“MmmYeah …oh god yes just like that…don’t stop...Faith baby please don’t stop...“ Oliver groans, his hand tightening in her hair, giving it a firm tug.

Faith releases her hands, taking him deep into her mouth, allowing Oliver to control her movements. With a couple of hard thrusts he lets out a deep throaty moan, emptying himself into her mouth. After giving him a few moments to regain his composure, Faith slowly pulls back, pushing herself back up to a standing position.

Oliver wraps his arms around her, quickly pinning her against the shower wall, giving her a slow, deep kiss as the water sprays down on them. “Best. Christmas. Ever.”

Faith giggles, slapping his ass. “Too bad your loud ass probably blew our cover...no pun intended…. ok maybe a little.”

“I can’t help it...your mouth is fucking magical.” He strokes her cheek, taking extra care to run his thumb over her bottom lip, pulling it down lightly with his finger.

“You’ve trained it well.” She smirks, kissing his cheek. “Let’s get cleaned up and go to bed. Santa needs to get up early.”

********

Faith sits at the breakfast bar, her head resting on her hand, cup of coffee in the other hand, a yawn spreading across her face. “Santa is tired.”

Oliver chuckles, flipping a batch of his pancakes on the stove. “Santa should go back to bed, I doubt that anybod--” The shrill sound of a toddler screaming causes them both to jump. Faith’s eyes fly open, as she drops her mug to the table, the dark liquid sloshing over the edge, jumping off her stool she runs quickly into the living room.

Jake was standing in front of the Christmas tree with a look of excitement glued to his face as he stood pointing. “SANNA COMED!”

“Jake, shhh. Everyone is still sleeping!” Faith grins bending down to his level. “But yes! Santa came!!”

“WHAT HAPPENED?” Talia runs out, half asleep, her eyes barely open.

“It’s okay… he was just excited about Santa.” Faith smiles standing up, her hand resting on Jake's head lightly.  

“Oh, thank god.” Talia sighs throwing her hair up in a messy bun. “Jakey, come on, let’s go back to bed…” she grabs at his hand, pointing back towards the bedroom.

“Noooooo, Sanna comed!” Jake pulls his hand free, flopping to the floor under the tree.

Veronica walks out, pulling a sweatshirt over her head. “I smell pancakes…”

“SHIT.” Oliver turns on his heels, running back into the kitchen, flipping a set of dark pancakes.

Christopher and Jordan sit up from the sofa bed, their tired eyes looking around the room, as people file out from the guest bedrooms excitement spreading across their faces. “ITS CHRISTMAS!!” Jordan jumps up, standing on the bed pointing at the tree.

Christopher stares at the tree, his head cocked to the side, “How did Santa know we were here…”

“Good Morning, everyone!!” Carol emerges, wrapped in a large black cardigan. “Did someone say Christmas?” She grins, tickling Jordan’s belly as he flops back down onto the sofa bed in a fit of giggles. She happily walks around the room kissing everyones cheeks, stopping lastly at Jake, “Oh my goodness! Jake, did Santa come?”

“HE DID HE DID!” Jake grins, “Gwama, dis mine?” He held up a box.

“No, sweetheart, that one isn’t for you.” Carol takes the box from him with a smile, placing it on the floor under the tree. She lifts Jake into her arms, resting him on her hip. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen, and Uncle Ollie will make some mickeycakes while mommy and daddy get dressed. Then after breakfast, we can open presents.”

Jake sat there for a moment, his little eyes squinted as he considered the proposition Carol just offered him to.  “Otay, Gwama...but I gonna eat two mickeycakes.”

“TWO?” Carol smirks walking him into the kitchen, standing next to Oliver at the stove.  “Tell Uncle Ollie what you want for breakfast Jake.”

Oliver looks up with a smile, “Hey buddy.”

“Owie, you make mickeycakes?” Jake points to the griddle pan, his brown eyes wide as he smiles up at him.

“Hmmm...Mickeycakes. I don’t know if I remember how to make those...you wanna help me?” He hold his arms out to him. Jake quickly scrambles across into Ollie’s embrace, wrapping his tiny arms around him.

“Owie, gimme dis…” Jake reaches for the pitcher of batter. Oliver chuckles picking up the pitcher, letting Jake help him pour the batter. “You do dis...an dis...an dis!” He giggles happily as Oliver pours the liquid on the pan in the shape of mickey mouse.

“Thank goodness you were here, I almost forgot how to make them!” Oliver smirks setting the pitcher down on the counter. “Are you excited to see what Santa brought?” He threw Jake up on his shoulders, as he grabbed the spatula, checking the mickeycake.

“Yeah! Sanna bringed so much stuff, Owie!” Jake sat with his little hands resting atop Olivers head.

Faith couldn’t help but giggle at the sight in front of her. “You two are just so cute right now...I have to take a picture of this…” Pulling out her phone she snaps a picture of them at the stove.

“Annie Face, look! I maked mickeycakes! See!” He points at the griddle as Oliver flips the pancake carefully.

“You did?!” Faith grins walking over to them, sliding her arm around Olivers back. “Wow! That looks really yummy Jake! You did such a good job!” He nods in agreement watching as Oliver slides it onto a plate for him, and cuts it up into little pieces.

“It’s really hot buddy...do you want a banana too? Or yogurt?” Oliver tips his head to the side, looking up at Jake, his face again deep in thought.

After a moment he speaks up firmly. “Banana.” Jake nods, confident in his decision.  

Faith chuckles grabbing a banana off of the counter, peeling it open. She instinctively cuts it down the middle, and then again into several small half-circles throwing it on the plate next to the pancake.

“How’d you know?…” Oliver smiles, pulling Jake down from his shoulders, carrying him over to his booster seat at the kitchen table.

“How’d I know what?” Faith grabs the plate and his sippy cup from the counter, putting it on the placemat on the table in front of Jake. She turns back briefly grabbing his bib off the counter and passing it to Oliver.

“How to cut his banana?” Oliver unhooks the bib sliding it around his little neck, pushing the pocket out to catch any loose bits that may fall.

“I dont know.. I just knew?” Faith shrugs with a smile, grabbing his little plastic silverware off of the drainboard in the kitchen, walking it back over to him. “Here you go sweetie.” She hands the tiny fork to Jake as he stabs a piece of pancake, shoving it in his face excitedly.

“You know...if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you two had done this before…” Diego smiles, walking past them into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

“Morning dad!” Oliver chuckles following him into the room, “we’ve done what? Made breakfast?”

Diego gives him a look, grabbing a mug from the countertop. “Don’t give me that. You can’t charm me, Oliver.” He smiles pouring a full cup. “You two just fed that kid quicker than any of those four parents out there combined.” He points over his shoulder towards the living room. “You’ll make great parents one day..” He pats Oliver’s shoulder before walking out of the kitchen, sitting at the dining room table with Jake while he ate.

***********

Later that morning everyone gathers around the tree, which transformed overnight from a small tree with a few ornaments and strings of garland, to a Christmas masterpiece with big bows, stockings hung up and down the loft staircase and lots of cards, and presents tucked underneath. Oliver took the lead as he began pulling stockings off of the railings, passing them out to their respective owners. Beginning with the kids first, and then to each of the adults in the room.

Each of the boys dump out their stockings, finding a card from Santa and plethora of other less-fun little things such as socks, toothbrushes, and candy.

Jake looks up with sad eyes at Talia who was cradling Anna in her arms, “Mama, no Toys?”

The room busted out in laughter at his innocence. “I’m pretty sure theres a mountain of presents under that tree Jakey...let’s just be patient, ok?” David smiles, patting his head gently.

The next hour and a half is comprised of the three boys squealing in delight at the gifts that Santa brought them. Jake ended up with a handful of DVDs, a few new outfits, a giant stuffed giraffe, a set of jumbo legos, a Dora the Explorer sticker set, as well as a talking Dora the Explorer doll. Santa brought Jordan a dozen coloring books with markers and colored pencils, a new nerf gun with an extra clip of darts, a walkie talkie set to share with Christopher, a gift card to itunes and new roller skates. Christopher received a lot of the same presents as Jordan since they loved to do everything together. Along with the walkie talkies, he also got roller skates, a new nerf gun with an extra clip of darts, and an itunes card. He also opened a stomp rocket kit and a 3-D puzzle set.

“Don’t worry… Santa didn’t forget Anna…” Faith smiles, motioning for Talia to pass her over. She gently scoops up the baby as Oliver slides a pile of presents towards her and David.

“Santa really didn’t have to do all of this.” Talia laughs, pulling a box off of the pile and passing it to David.

“Yes he did!” Jake nods, his face half covered in his new stickers. "It's Cwismas!"

Oliver chuckles, “Santa doesn’t mind...he's happy everyone could be together for a change."

"Chase how many times do I have to tell you to put that thing away." Carol huffs snatching his DS from his hands.

"MOM!" He grumbles throwing his hands in the air, frustrated. "Seriously?!"

"Oh come on Mom, it's Christmas. He's fine." Veronica took the game from Carol’s hand passing it back to Chase.

Talia and David open the boxes one by one, unwrapping a mound of new clothes, shoes, toys and accessories for Anna.

"My goodness! Looks like Santa was busy last night!" Diego chuckles shaking his head at Oliver.

"Santa can't take all the credit, Mrs. Claus was very busy too..." Oliver smiles looking over at Faith who was leaning back into the recliner, giving Anna her bottle.

"What else is under there, Jake?" Faith grins as Jake dives under the tree, struggling to pull out a few of the bigger boxes. "Dis mine?"

"I think that green one is for uncle Chase..." Oliver points over to the sofa where Chase was sitting quietly, staring mindlessly across the room. "Can you give it to him?"

"Ace! Dis from sanna!" Jake bounces excitedly as he struggles to lift the box, eventually giving up and pushing it over to him.

Chase pulls the large box up from the floor tearing away at the paper and flipping open the lid. "Holy shhh...oot!" He censors himself as he gapes wide eyed, staring down at the box.  

He reaches inside pulling out several smaller packages, each individually wrapped, and 4 bigger boxes.

"My word," Carol chuckles, "never to be outdone are you?" She smiles at Oliver shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Go for it, dude. What's in there?" Oliver smirks sitting on the arm of the recliner, sliding an arm around Faith.

Chase pulls the wrapping paper off each the boxes revealing a pair of beats headphones, an Xbox one, Kinnect, half a dozen games and two extra controllers. "You guys are insane..." He shook his head as he examined his games , "this is insane!"

"How about that purple snowflake paper, Jake? Who is that for?" Faith smiles as she pats Anna's back gently, trying to burp her.

"I dunno?" Jake throws his hands up with a shrug. "Who dis for?" He pushes the purple box over to Veronica, as she reads the tag.

"Looks like this one is for Aunt Gabby!" Veronica smiles as she lifts the box passing it across to Gabby.

"You guys I'm 22 years old...I don't need presents." Gabby stares at them.

"Tell that to Santa," Faith scrunches her nose with a smile looking at Oliver.

"Yeah, Santa must have done it?" He smiles with a shrug.

Gabby pulls back the paper from the rectangular box shaking her head, revealing a new laptop with a graphic tablet. “You guys….this is too much.”

"Santa thought this may help with your illustrations...you can keep it just for work stuff. Tons of storage and the new software is already preloaded." Oliver smiles, "you're amazing, Gabby...you're going to do big things."

“Annie Face, dis mine?” Jake held up a silver box.

“No sweetheart, that’s not yours...but can you find another box that looks just like that?” Faith smiles taking the box from him handing it to Oliver, as he dove back under the tree. After a few minutes of digging around through the wrapping paper, Jake crawls over with a second silver box. “Ok Jake, go give one to Mommy and one to Aunt Ronni.”

“Oh no no, come on, you’ve already done so much for the kids…” Talia shakes her head.

“Tali..shush. It’s from Santa.” Oliver hushes her, nodding for her to take the box. “You too Ronni…”

The girls peel back the boxes finding a brochure and gift cards for a local spa there in Seattle. “I thought it would be nice if we could spend some time together.” Faith smiles at them, “no kids, no husbands...just girl-time.”

“Oh god that sounds wonderful,” Veronica groans, reading over the brochure, “I can’t wait. Thank you both.”

“Seriously, you didn’t have to do this. You’re both ridiculous...but thank you.” Talia smiles wide, holding up the box, “I really appreciate all you did for us and the kids..”

Oliver reaches under the tree grabbing two other small packages, “Santa didn’t forget you guys either…” he passes  David and Pete a box. Each of the men rip the paper back producing printed receipts for Seattle Seahawks playoff tickets for the upcoming weekend.

“Who needs girls days?…” Oliver nudges Faith with a smirk, “we’re gonna go drink beer, and freeze watching Football!”

David and Pete express their thank yous, and Oliver grabs the last box from under the tree.

“Mom..Dad...You have no idea how much I struggled coming up with something for you. You worked so hard to get everyone together, there was nothing that I could come up with that even comes close to what that meant to me.” He smiles, handing over the last box. “It’s nothing special...but Merry Christmas.”

“Oliver you should know that we don’t need presents from you kids...being together is enough for us.” Carol stood giving him a hug, placing a kiss on his cheek, “but thank you.”

Diego rips the paper open, looking over the small folio from Altura passing the card to Carol, the swankiest restaurant in Seattle. Oliver had gotten them a gift certificate for their Tasting and Wine Pairing menu. “Even grandparents need a night out with no kids…” he chuckles, “and when you cant get rid of the kids…” he looks to Carol.

“The wine of the month club,” Carol laughs, “Ollie, sweetheart, this is perfect!”

“No more?” Jake frowns, looking under the tree.

“No more, buddy.” Oliver chuckles, “How about we play with some of the stuff you already opened?

 

*******

Faith picks up her cellphone, flopping down on Oliver’s bed. Her head sinking down into the pillow with a sigh. She presses the familiar number into the phone, wedging the device between her ear and the pillow.

“Merry Christmas from still balls cold Montreal!” Shayna laughs picking up the phone. “Hi booboo!”

“Merry Christmas from Santa’s handy little helper!” Faith giggles grabbing the phone. “Balls cold, eh?...do they really say eh there!” She asks excitedly.

“Surprisingly they do. No matter how hard they try not to….  Santa’s handy helper hasn’t passed out yet?”

“I’ve been trying all day, but between Jake, and Oliver, and the baby. I just haven’t had a chance. We were up late last night, and then up early this morning to wrap about a bafillion presents...and I think I’m SO tired, that I can’t fall asleep.”

“They were probably so surprised weren’t they?”

“Oh my god, Shay. You should have seen them all” Faith grins, “I thought Jake was going to pee himself he was so excited. It was so worth being exhausted all day.”

“Greyson apparently hasn’t taken his jersey off since last night. Marc said he cried when they put him in his pajamas so they had to put him back in it to sleep. Honestly, he was the cutest thing ever just running around with the little hockey set we got him just yelling ‘Tree! Tree! Hockey!’ So adorable…”

Faith giggles rubbing her hand over her belly, “Shayna...do you think Bubbles will like hockey?”

“Of course! Bubbles is going to love hockey! Just like mommy and daddy!”

“I’ll tell you… I had no idea how excited I was about all of this until I spent time with Ollie’s niece and nephews. I was literally standing in the guest room watching Anna sleep, and I was just crying.” She smiles widely, “That will be us one day…”

“I nearly cried when I saw Greyson sleeping on Tristan earlier. He was so tired from them playing he just passed out while they were sitting on the couch. I can’t… It’s just… something that makes me melt…” Shayna sighs into the phone.

“Soooooo in love.” Faith coos at her. “So! Speaking of Deni! How’s my favorite defenseman doing? DON’T TELL GAVS!”

Shayna giggles slightly before coughing, “Oh you know, he’s good. He’s downstairs doing…actually, I don’t know what he’s doing.”

“How was the gift exchange? Did he absolutely die at the watch?”

“He loved it! He was so surprised. You’ll have to tell Olls I said thank you again. Gift exchange was so good. He gave me a matching diamond lock to the key!”

“Ooooooh DENI!” Faith grins, a wide smile spreading across his face. “Homeboy got you diamonds? Shit, I don’t even have diamonds…he must REALLY love you!”

“He’s gotten me diamonds before.. you were there! There was that, two cute silver hearts one that has a S and on that has a T. OH OH and he bought me those navy Loubs we were looking at like two weeks ago…” Shayna gushes. “He does love me… ughhh he does. I love him so much Faith.”

“Oh, right...sorry...I guess pregnancy brain is setting in early! Jesus help me, I’m going to be so screwed, I don’t remember anything as it is!” Faith chuckles, rolling over onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow. “I’m jealous about the Loubs, but they will look so good on you! I can’t wait to see them! I knew about the hearts, Ollie told me,” she smiles, fluffing her hair. “I’m so glad he’s taking care of you, Shay… You deserve the world and then some.”

“I would still love him just as much regardless of what he gave me. It’s just nice. So, how’s the Moreno clan?”

“Oh I know… I didn’t mean taking care of you as in showering you with lavish gifts, I just meant that he’s fawning over you. You deserve to be spoiled, and cherished and loved. You’ve never let yourself have that before...and I’m glad that you’re happy.” Faith says honestly. “But the Moreno’s? They’re actually quite amazing. Talia and Veronica apologized last night. We talked about things and are totally fine now. His little sister, Gabby is really sweet. She’s super artsy, I bet she would get along great with Danielle! His little brother is just the cutest thing ever. He’s in that 16 and awkward phase...you know, Ollie was telling me he sneaks girls into his bedroom at night?” She giggles.

“They apologized? Good! Good to hear. We’ll have to get some stuff from Dani to send Gabby if she’s big into that kind of thing. Maybe if anything like an internship! Oooh teenagers. He’s sneaking in girls? That sounds…like Oliver.” Shayna laughs.

“Yeah, apparently she’s not allowed to date, but Chase is smitten by her. We got this cute little bracelet today for him to give her for Christmas when he gets home. Maybe it will help grease the wheels with her parents… I don’t know.” Faith shrugs, “but oh Shayna, these little kids are killing me slowly… I’m so in love with them, especially Jake. He’s so cute.”

“Better get used to it. You’re going to have one running around soon. We are watching Greyson tonight while Marc and Aimee go to dinner. Should be fun…”

“Sounds like a good time!.. I miss you Shay,” Faith frowns, “Who’s stupid idea was it for you to go to Montreal - DON’T answer that.”

“Yeah, who’s idea was it….” Shayna laughs. “We’ll be flying back in tomorrow. Not looking forward to that flight but, we’ll be home soon!”

“Ohhhh do you want to come to the spa with me and Ollie’s sisters? They’re in town for the week, so we’re going to be doing a lot of stuff around the city. They’ll be in town for the game on Thursday too! The kids are so excited. AND You can come steal Anna with me.” Faith grins.

“Mmmm, the spa. Yes… duh. I’ll need to exfoliate after this god damn cold. OH speaking of spas… that was part of a gift to me from Tristan’s parents…. when we go to Hawaii!” Shayna squeals.

“HAWAII?!” Faiths jaw drops. “Ughhhhh I wanna go! Take me with you, we can leave Tristan home with Ollie.”

“I felt like I was on Oprah. Marc and Aimee are taking Greyson to Disney World. I don’t know if I’m jealous or not at that. Hawaii with Tristan sounds sooooo amazing, but Disney World… DISNEY WORLD….”

“DISNEYWORLD!” Faiths eyes go wide. “I miss Disney so much!!! Ughhhhhh,” she whines, flopping back into the pillow. “Well, rest assured, if you don’t go to Disney now, we’re definitely taking Bubbles when he/she is older!”

“Older? Pffft, having a kid is an automatic key to the Disney castle. Come on… Bubbles doesn’t even need to be awake. Just we can take turns pushing the stroller.”

“I want her to remember it though!” Faith giggles, “The ears, the princesses, the rides, the magic! She's gonna love it!”

“Well, we’ll figure it out. Princesses though…. Something you aren’t telling me?”

“What?”

“You said she…”

“Oh...I did?” Faith sighs, “That’s the second time I’ve done that today…”

“Probably just because you’ve been hanging out stealing Anna.” Shayna chuckles.

“Or... because I secretly hope bubbles is a girl?” Faith mumbles quietly, making sure no one could hear her.

“I see…”

“I know. It’s really bad...I shouldn’t want one more than the other...but I just kinda...do?” Faith bites at her nails, “is that wrong?”

“No I’m sure that’s natural. I kinda hope it’s a girl because I want to buy a ton of bows and little frilly outfits but. Yanno, whatever. Happy and healthy and all that…”

“Exactly - I mean, I won’t be upset if it’s a boy...but I’d be REALLY happy if it’s a girl” she smiles with a yawn. “Man, what the hell happened to me, one late night and early morning, and I’m literally exhausted. When did I get old?”

“We aren’t old, you just have an extra little bit thats sucking the life out of you slowly… Sorry Bubs!”

“It’s ok...bubbles knows,” Faith chuckles, “but on that note, Momma is going to take a nap before I throw up again.”

“That’s fine, I have to go find Tristan anway. He’s probably playing with the dog. I’ll see you maybe tomorrow when we come in? I think we fly back at like I don’t even know with the time difference. Ughh, jet lag. Can’t wait for that one.”

“You’ll be okay, you’re going the other direction.” Faith smiles, “You’ll be here early, maybe we can do dinner or something? You can at least come over and meet the family.”

“I’ll be in touch. Have fun, tells Olls Deni and I said Merry Christmas.”

“Same to you and Tristan! And Shay...do me a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Give Deni a Christmas Fuck...ya know...since there's none of that happening over here.I feel that at least one of us should be getting laid on Christmas.”

“Already ahead of you… but what’s a third time…” Shayna giggles.

“I’m jealous. But, good. I feel better. Okay booboo, Love you!”

“Love ya too! Byeeee!!!”

“Byeeeeee”

***********

Oliver sat on the edge of the bed lightly rubbing Faith's shoulder, trying to wake her. “Baby...it’s almost 4:30. You’ll never sleep tonight if you don’t get up”

Faith stirs with a grumble, rubbing her hands over her face, “Shhhh….” she scoots back from the edge of the bed, patting the mattress next to her. “sleeping…”

Oliver smiles pushing her hair back from her face while speaking softly, “time to wake up, Faithy.”

"Nooo..." She whines softly, her eyes still closed. She reaches out blindly, patting around for a moment before tugging on his shirt gently, "cuddle."

"I'm way too smitten by you to say no..." Oliver chuckles as he lays down crawling under the covers wrapping his arms around her body.

"Hi." Faith smiles as she scoots over into his side with a content sigh.

"Hi." Oliver presses a kiss to the side of her head.

"Nap time," she mumbles.  

“No more nap time, sweetie. Time to get up,” Oliver chuckles, his fingers lightly skimming under the hem of her t-shirt, his fingers cool on her warm skin.

Faith whines quietly, “but I’m sleeping…”

“Wake up,” Oliver says softly as he bends down, pressing his lips against her forehead. “Wake up,” he places another kiss on her cheek, “wake up.”

Faith smiles with her eyes still closed, giggling softly.

He moves to her jawline as he lets his lips linger, sucking gently on her neck, “wake up.” Oliver shifts his body, hovering over her as presses his lips lightly against hers a few times, mumbling against her lips, “wake up, wake up, wake up.”

“Ok ok ok, I’m up.” Faith smirks opening her eyes, “I’m awake.”

“Good…” Oliver smiles, as he continues to place kisses along her jaw.

“God, you’re like a horny teenager.” Faith smirks, bringing her hand to his cheek. “Don’t get your hopes up, we’re still not having sex until we talk to the doctor.”

“It’s not my hopes that I’m getting up,” He chuckles, his teeth pulling lightly on her earlobe, “I can’t help what you do to me.”

Faith tenses beneath him, his hot breath tickling her ear. "You better start thinking about taking a shower because it's just not happening babe...not until we talk to the doctor."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you." Oliver looks down at her with a smile, "you love thinking about me in the shower..."

Faith rolls her eyes with a groan, giving him a shove. "Ughh..."

"I can't blame you, I bet I look pretty sexy when I'm soaking wet, the hot water dripping down my body...maybe you should come watch." Oliver grins catching her mouth quickly with his before he stands from the bed. "Or you could stay in bed napping, that's up to you. But I'll probably be a few minutes...I have some things to attend to.." Oliver reaches over his head, pulling his shirt up and off before tossing it on the bed next to Faith. "Won't be needing this." He turns towards the bathroom, unclasping his belt, the metal buckle clanging as he pulls it from his jeans and dropping it to the floor, "or this."

"Oliver Scott, I swear to God..." Faith growls through clenched teeth as she sits upright.

Oliver turns over his shoulder, a coy smile on his face, "Come watch me, so I can watch you..."

“You just wait, once we find out if we can have sex...you’re getting blue balled like no ones business.” Faith crosses her arms. “But yes I will come watch you in the shower, because nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing you happy.” Faith huffs as she pushes herself up and stamps her feet past him into the bathroom.

*********

Sitting out on the balcony overlooking the marina wrapped in a blanket, Faith looks back over her shoulder at a sleepy Oliver with a content smile, “I don’t think I could have asked for a better Christmas today, other than my parents being here.”

“I know,” Oliver kisses the top of her head, his arms tightening around her from behind, “we’ll see your parents soon. Couple of weeks.”

Faith nods, looking back to the sky. “Did you ever think we’d be sitting here like this again?  Some days I wonder how we ended up back here.”

“We we’re meant to be here, Faith.” Oliver smiles, resting his chin on her shoulder. “The universe wanted us to be together, so...it brought us back together.”

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Faith sighs softly, her hands linked with his under the blanket, “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“You loved me, Faith.” Oliver presses his nose into her hair, nuzzling against her neck.

“I’ll always love you, Olls.” Faith breathes softly.

A few minutes of silence pass, the only sounds provided by the world moving around them. Oliver gently lets go of her hands, shifting behind her. “So, I know we said no gifts…” he reaches into the pocket of his sweatshirt. Pulling out a small Tiffany blue box, he untucks his hands from the blanket. “but...Merry Christmas, baby.”

“Oliver!” Faith turns to the side so she could look at him. “You just bought all those presents for your family, and this RIDICULOUS engagement ring, not to mention the bus, and lunch for all the girls, and our nails and shopping. Why’d you do this?” She tries to scold him, but can’t help the smile that is spreading across her face at the sight of the little blue box. “You don’t have to do all of this.”

“Shhh.” Oliver lifts his hand up, pressing a finger softly to her lips, “Faith, stop.” He smiles, pulling his hand back running it over her shoulder lightly. “Just open the box sweetie. It’s Christmas. Besides, I promise it’s nothing crazy.”

Faith pulls at the white ribbon, watching as the satin bow slowly comes apart. Sliding the ribbon off of the box, she pops the lid back, slowly removing it from the bottom of the box. Inside the box was a blue pouch with a single snap. Faith carefully unsnapped the material pouring the contents out carefully into her hands. “OH...Oh, Oliver.” Faith smiles, running her finger across the shiney silver link bracelet.

Oliver reaches around, picking the bracelet up from her hand. He undoes the clasp, looping the metal around her wrist, pointing to each of the small charms which were delicately attached with small lobster claw clasps. “A teddy bear for our baby to hold, a pair of little booties for our baby to wear, a rubber duckie for our baby to splash with, a building block for our baby to learn with, and my heart to keep with you both, no matter what.”

“Oliver, I…” Faith trails off shaking her head as she looks back down at the bracelet sitting perfectly on her wrist. “Our baby is so lucky to have such an amazing man for their daddy, and I’m even luckier to have such a loving, caring, thoughtful man as my almost husband.” She looks up at him, “this is the most perfect gift ever, Ollie.”

“This doesn’t even compare.” Oliver rubs his hand over Faith’s belly lightly, “You are giving ME the most perfect gift in the world, Faith.”

***********

 


	25. But all I wanna know is where the party at...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just like the title, LET'S HAVE A PARTY! It's the Scarlet Holiday Party!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Backstreet Boys "Let's Have A Party". If you have never heard that song, I highly suggest it. You know what? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p59_vLlBNGQ Enjoy it. Just a heads up, Nick Carter was like 5 when they recorded this. LMFAO... his voice.... smh!
> 
> Sorry for the late night posting. I was really hoping I would have did it earlier today but there was plenty of playoff hockey so it delayed it. I just wanted to make sure I got it in before I went to the soccer game tomorrow since that will take up all of my day. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone reading this. We hope you enjoy it! Kudos and comments are always welcome and appreciated! :)

“No Tristan. I’m going to get ready at my apartment by myself. I want you to be surprised when I walk in,” Shayna walks around the concourse in search of Faith, her phone tucked between her ear and shoulder.

“That just means it’s a dress that I probably would not let you walk out of the house with,” Tristan sighs into the speaker.

“Who said anything about that? It’s really pretty and sparkly and… you’ll like it,” Shayna waves at Faith standing at a table with the caterer. “Listen, I found Faith, we are going to get our hair done. You have until the latest 5 to get out of the apartment. Go get ready with Gavs.”

“Fine, fine. You’re being picked up right?”

“No, Faith is driving… because… you know. So I’ll see you around 6:30?” Shayna gives Faith a look as she walks up to her at the table.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then. Love you,” Tristan replies.

“Love you too.” Shayna takes the phone from her shoulder hitting the end button waiting for the screen to clear. “He’s so worried about what I’m wearing later he almost refuses to let me get dressed by myself. Am I honestly the one who gets dressed so risque?”

Faith chuckles shaking her head, “he can’t help himself, he’s so possessive of you. No one can see your ladybits but him.” She signs the paperwork handing it back to the caterer with a nod before turning back to Shayna. “It’ll be nice to spend a little time together without the boys.”

“I dress pretty decently and I’m mostly covered at all times,” Shayna rolls her eyes. “Maybe a short skirt or two, but leg? Come on.”

“Hey...you’re asking the wrong person here. Oliver clearly has no problems with people seeing my goodies… I actually think he gets off on it.” Faith shrugs, “He’s weird.”

Shayna shrugs “My dress isn’t bad…” she pouts as they walk back to the elevators to the offices. “I can’t wait to get my hair done to relax me.”

“Your dress is HOT. Tristan won’t be complaining when he sees you in that thing.” Faith smirks as she pushes the call button. “I’m excited too, I can’t wait to surprise Olls...I don’t know that hes ever seen my hair straight before.”

“I’m excited to see it. It’s literally been forever,” Shayna smiles as they step into the elevator, pressing the button for the office level.

“It’s going to be looooong.” Faith chuckles as she pulls on one of the loose strands. “Oh well.” She smirks, “what are you doing with yours?”

“Probably just a blow out with some volume, I was thinking maybe a bit of a poof looking thing with  a black crystal headband?” She waves her hands around her head pulling at her hair. “I don’t know… whatever they want to do but straight and long as usual.”

“I like it...just don’t look like snooki and we’ll be ok” Faith giggles as she pushes open her office door, dropping her folio on the desk. “Do we need anything else here? We’re good, right?”

Shayna looks through the folders in her hand, “Nope. Everything seems to be taken care of.” She checks her phone “We are due at the salon in 30 minutes.”

“Ok good! I need to pee, then we can drive through sonic for a slushie on our way…” She grins innocently.

“Cherry coke! Yes, of course! Gonna go grab my purse and I’ll meet you back at the elevator.” Shayna nods backing up for the door.

After running to the bathroom Faith shuts down her computer and grabs her coat. Walking towards the elevator she pulls out her phone texting Oliver.

**Faith (2:48pm):** _Wear that black shirt I like tonight...and the Red tie. We can match. Don’t forget to turn off the iron when you’re done getting ready. <3_

*********

Faith stands in the mirror at Shayna’s apartment, looking herself over. The thin black silk of the top of her dress blousing slightly at the band of the conjoined sparkly black skirt perfectly hiding her small baby bump. “This dress makes me look fat.” She pushes her stomach out as far as it will go, huffing as she pokes at the lump.

“You’re fucking pregnant….” Shayna glares at her sticking her head out of the bedroom door, her hair straightener in her hand like a weapon. “Are you serious? Stop poking my godchild.”

“I know… I know,” she rubs her hand over the bump, “sorry bubbles.” Faith runs her hands through her hair, “I don’t even look like myself with my hair straight.”

“We could pass for twins,” Shayna laughs in the room. “Alright… here I come. I think I’m just going to wear my key necklace… no need for anything crazy right? This dress is too sparkly…” she opens the door with her hands up. “Tadaaaa….”

“Oww owwwww!” Faith chuckles, “Oh yeah, Deni is going to kill you.” She wiggles her finger, motioning for her to spin. “Let me see…”

Shayna spins in place with a giggle straightening the top part of the strapless black sparkle dress, smoothing down the peplum-esque pieces at her waist that bunch off her left hip cascading down her side just above her knee. “He’s gonna die…”

“So is your vagina…” Faith snorts.

“You’re horrible,” Shayna glares at her for a second before she starts cracking up. “I hope so…”

Faith chuckles with a pout, “get some for me, would you?”

Shayna slips her feet into her black heels giving Faith a thumbs up. “Of course… What time is it?”

Faith checks her watch quickly, “6:04?” She sits down on the edge of the couch, pulling out her chunky red heels from her bag, “Sorry in advance feet…”

“Those are so pretty.” Shayna smiles pulling her clutch together, “Lip gloss… lip gloss. Fuck where is my Buxom one… the one that makes my lips nice and tingly…” she drops everything on the table walking back into the bathroom. “I got it!” she clutches the small tube in her hand picking back up her clutch stuffing it in there along with her phone. “I’m ready when you are!”

Faith slides the shoes onto her feet, standing from the sofa. “I just need to pee, and we’re good to go!”

“Of course…” Shayna points to the bathroom door as Faith walks in. “As if we could go anywhere without you peeing.”

“Bubbles is almost offended by that!” She walks into the bathroom kicking the door closed behind her.

Shayna looks at her phone checking the messages from Tristan while she waits.

A few minutes later Faith emerges, a bright red tint freshly painted on her lips to match her shoes, the small cross resting in the small of her throat. A thin silver headband keeping her hair in place. “Alright, bubbles says we can go now...as long as mommy’s red lipstick doesn’t make her look like a whore?”

“Tristan is wearing the dark grey dress shirt…” Shayna pants holding her phone up to Faith showing her the picture. “Fuck my life… But no, you don’t look like a whore. If TSwift can rock the red lip, anyone can and we all know she’s a real whore…”

“PERFECT!” Faith chuckles grabbing her clutch off the breakfast bar, sliding the tube of lipstick inside after checking for her phone, license and credit cards. She pulls her car keys out of her purse, and fixes the placement of her ring with a smile. “You ready?”

“Let’s go!” Shayna grabs her keys looking at her clutch. “Ehhh fuck. Hmm….” she opens the small bag looking around. “Hold on, gotta take my key off first,” she puts the small bag down on it’s side on the bar top, the contents falling out.

Faith raises an eyebrow, a smirk spreading across her face, “Well, Shay….. really?” she reaches out grabbing two condoms off of the counter. “Big plans tonight?”

“A girl can only be prepared,” Shayna snatches them out of Faith’s hand stuffing them in to the small pocket inside the bag.

“Oh…” Faith stifles her laughter, her expression more serious. “Well then.” she adjusts her dress. “Let’s go!”

“I’m just going to leave my keys in your car. Just make sure I’m accountable for them later.” Shayna gives up trying to take the key off the ring. She pushes everything back into the small bag heading toward the door.

Faith nods grabbing her coat, “Of course. We’re staying here tonight, so. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I know Tristan should have his key but just in case.” Shayna slides her black wool trench dress coat on as she opens the door.

****  
  


*******

Oliver stood at the high top table, playing with his red bowtie, “This fucking thing.”

“Bow tie, Oliver?” Tristan strolls up to the table putting his glass down. “Faith tell you to wear that?”

“NO.” He stops messing with it, grabbing his glass of the table, taking a sip of the amber liquid. “Maybe.”

“Did it come with a pocket protector?” Gavin snorts standing next to them. “Or perhaps black rimmed glasses?”

“For your information, chicks find the bowtie to be unbearably sexy. Same with the suspenders.” Oliver grins as he loops his thumbs under the material, giving them a tug.

“I wear glasses, Gavin. Are you trying to say there’s something about glasses?” Tristan raises an eyebrow at him. “Suspenders too? Someone’s hoping to get some this evening…”

Oliver lets out a long sigh, bringing his glass back up to his lips.

“If it makes you feel better Oliver, Ella insisted I wear navy so we matched, like this is prom or something.” Gavin points to his dress shirt.

Oliver chuckles, “I was told to wear black and red so we could match. Seriously, these girls.” He shakes his head, “Gotta love them though.”

“I dressed myself so…” Tristan shrugs with a grin as he takes a sip of his drink. “But 9 times out of 10 Shayna is wearing black so whatever.”

Gavin stands up straight, his eyes wide, “She sure is…” he gawks watching the girls walk across the concourse over Oliver’s shoulder.

“I told y-- Oh… ohhhh…” Tristan takes a deep breath watching as Shayna, Faith and Ella walk up to their table.

Oliver sets his glass down, his brown eyes large, his mouth hanging open. “Your hair!”

“Hey boys…” Faith smiles, walking over to them setting her bag down on the table top. “You like?” she grins stamping a red lip print against his cheek.

“I love” Oliver smirks, reaching out to run his hand over her straight hair. “It’s so soft.”

Gavin holds his hand out to Ella pulling her to him as he places a kiss on her lips. “Babe, you look amazing.”

“You’re just the cutest thing ever, Gavs.” Ella bats her eyelashes, rubbing her hands on his chest. “You clean up nice.”

“Shayna…” Tristan stares at her, his eyes wide, scanning her body from head to toe. “Shayna, Shayna, Shayna.”

Shayna grins as she slides in next to Tristan satisfied with herself, “Hey Deni,” she runs her hands down the front of his suit jacket. “You look good as usual.”

Tristan nods, watching her hands, “You look…” he shakes his head. “Stunning.”

“Everything looks so amazing! You guys really pulled this together,” Victoria walks over to their table with Anders following along with Greta and Luca.

“Aww, thanks. Faith really can get shit done,” Shayna laughs. “You guys look good! Everyone looks so amazing.”

“Thanks!” Victoria blushes. “It took a lot to get into a dress, but it’s worth it.”

“You know me, I’m not a dress person, but you know,” Greta looks down at her black dress.

Audrey walks up, with JP on her arm, “Glad you all could come! This is going to be so much fun!”

Faith grins giving her a hug, “I’m so relieved everything came together! I was stressing all afternoon!”

“What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?” Ella looks at Gavin.

“That actually sounds really good right now…” Shayna nods in agreement. “Els, comes on, I’ll show you the bar. Faith, I’ll get you something. We’ll be right back… Look there’s Evie!”

Faith nods with an appreciative smile, “Thanks booboo!”

Shayna takes Ella’s arm walking across the tabled area to the bar set up a little further down the concourse in the direction of London and Everly.

“You know Deni, you should probably pick your jaw up off the floor now,” Faith smirks, shaking her head at him. “You know she’s been dying for that reaction all day, right?”

Tristan continues watching Shayna across the floor. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.” She nudges him with a snicker, “You’ve got it BAD right now.”

“Such a hardass until Shayna walks in the room, then its all mushy gushy love crap.” Gavin shakes his head, “disgraceful.”

“As if you have room to talk, Gavin.” Tristan narrows his eyes at him briefly.

“Now now boys…” Faith stands between them, outstretching her arms, “no need to fight, but Gav’s right. You love her and its really sweet, but keep it in your pants until you get home, Tristan.” Faith chuckles, “You’re going to burn out your retinas if you keep staring at her like that.”

Tristan sighs, rubbing the side of his face. He picks up his glass taking a gulp. “I just… ugh, never mind.”

“She looks fuckin hot, I know.” Faith nods with a grin. “I’m proud of her for that outfit!”

“Amen!” Gavin chimes in, raising his glass.

“Only because you said it first, I agree!” Oliver nods.

Shayna and Ella return to their table, handing out drinks.

“Here you go Faith, front one is you,” Shayna holds out the three glasses. “I figured you needed another one,” she smirks handing Tristan another glass.

“Thanks, babe,” Tristan nods finishing his first glass off.

Faith nods with a smile, taking a tentative sip to make sure there was no mix up. “Thanks, Shay!”

“This is one hell of a party, right?” Ella looks around bobbing subtly to the music, the venue quickly filling up with their co-workers and spouses.

Kopecky wanders over with his flavor of the week, wrapping an arm around Faith and Oliver’s shoulders. “It’s so nice seeing you kids all so happy.” He smiles at Tristan and Gavin, already slightly intoxicated. “You’re all so...happy.”

“Someone’s already enjoying the free top shelf I see,” Shayna laughs.

Gavin chuckles nodding his head at him “Go take some shots for me, man. We’ll meet you at the bar in a little bit!”

Kopecky nods, patting Oliver on the shoulder. “I’ll have them waiting for you...all of you.” He points around the table with a serious look on his face, before walking off towards the bar.

“Annnnnnd, taking bets on whether he makes it until midnight?” Faith laughs.

“He’s definitely not making it. I feel bad for whoever’s that girl was,” Shayna giggles.

“Probably Jiri, they all share anyway.” Gavin added in with a smirk, “those Czech’s are all way too friendly.”

Shayna takes a sip of her drink watching the dance floor fill up, “Maybe we should go dance. It looks like fun and the DJ we picked is killing it.”

“Yes!” Ella slaps the table, throwing the rest of her drink back quickly. “I’m ready!”

Faith chuckles, “Maybe for a few minutes, I don’t know how long I’ll last in these shoes.”

“Do you want to dance with me, Tristan?” Shayna looks over at Tristan with a smile. “Come on, maybe just one?”

Tristan sits quietly for a moment before nodding, “Not for too long, but sure.”

“He said yes! Oh my god, move…” Shayna finishes her glass quickly. She grabs his hand pulling him in the direction of the floor full of people and away from the table.

Tristan slides an arm around her once they get out on the dancefloor, pulling her body to his protectively, his face still expressionless.

Shayna sways to the beat in front of him, her ass sliding across the front of him.

Tristan grabs her hips firmly, holding her in place. “You’re already on thin ice because of that dress, Shayna. Don’t push it.”

“Thin ice? Oh please,” Shayna turns around to face him. “You know what, come with me. I want to show you something,” she takes his hand leading him off of the dance floor to the far end of the concourse.

“Where are we going?” Tristan raises an eyebrow as they end up in a dimly lit part of the arena. “You realize we’re probably not supposed to be down here.”

Shayna looks down the hall making sure no one is following or around as she pushes the glass door to the lounge. “Don’t ask questions. Just come on,” she pulls him up the stairs to the suite level staying close to the doors to not be spotted. She continues down the row of suites, grabbing at the doors as she goes. The fourth door she grabs opens.

“A suite?” Tristan gives her a look, “Shayna, what are you doing?”

“Ok, few things,” she turns on the lights in the doorway. “Nope that’s not gonna work,” she plays with the light switches finally setting on just the wall sconces. “So number one, I’ve always wanted to fuck you in the players’ suite. Drove me absolutely crazy seeing you in this suite in those suits… ughhhh. It’s been a fantasy of mine for as long as you’ve been here.” She turns to the door making sure it’s locked before turning back to him, pushing him in the main area, dropping her clutch to the table. “Two, obviously the only way to calm you is to get you to fuck me against the wall or across that table, so this works. Two birds, one stone.”

Tristan stares at her, a blank expression on his face before a satisfied grin spreads across his cheeks, “You planned all this?”

“The dress, well I mean I love this dress. I kinda knew you would be worked up and it just made this a little easier to make happen. And in case you didn’t notice, this is the players’ suite. I made sure earlier that the door would be open to get in.”

“Oh, we’re gonna make it happen, Shayna…” Tristan steps closer to her, his voice quiet, his accent thick.

“I didn't think you would say no,” Shayna smiles running her hands along his dress shirt under his suit jacket pushing the heavy coat material off of his shoulders.

Tristan slides the jacket off placing it on the chair of the small table next to them as he moves closer to Shayna backing her against the far wall. "Is this what you wanted?"

"Mmmhm," Shayna nods, her back pressing against the wall as Tristan frames her with his arms on either side of her.

"This dress..." Tristan runs his finger along the top of the dress outlining the edge of sequins. "Scandalous, Shayna. Absolutely.... sexy. You know how I feel when you dress like this."

"It's not always," Shayna bites her lip watching his finger trail across her chest.

“No,” Tristan leans down pressing a light kiss to her cheek, along her chin to her neck. “You don’t, but when you do, it drives me crazy,” he whispers in her ear, his breath warm against her skin giving her goosebumps as he nips at her earlobe.

“Success,” Shayna smirks as she runs her hand through his freshly cut hair, tugging lightly to bring his mouth to hers. They break apart just as quick. “I love when a plan comes together.”

Tristan gives a deep chuckle as he grabs at her thigh, hooking his hand underneath her leg pushing her up the wall slightly so she is eye level with him as his own hips shift against her pinning her to the wall.  

*******

Faith checks her phone for the hundredth time, letting out a huff as there is no message on her screen. “Oll’s, have you seen Shayna or Deni? I’m getting a little worried.”

“I haven’t seen them since they went on the dance floor, but that was like a half hour, 45 minutes ago,” Oliver looks out to the floor scanning the crowd briefly. “They’re not out there. I’m pretty sure I would be able to spot Deni’s head above everyone else in there.”

“Great. Now I’m officially worried. Let me just take a relaxing sip of my tonic…” Faith huffs sarcastically, taking a sip. “Do you think we should go look for them? I mean, what if something happened?”

“I think if something happened, one of the two of them would have surfaced. I’m sure they’re just around somewhere…” Oliver scans the concourse, the dim lighting not exactly helping. “Wait… wait a second… I think… that’s them coming down the stairs in the lounge there?” he points to the second level above the club lounge, the lights reflecting off of Shayna’s glittery dress.

“Oh hellllllllll no! NO she did not.” Faith laughs loudly, clapping her hands together.

“I’m obviously missing something. Why would they be walking around on Suite Level…” Oliver raises an eyebrow at Faith.

“I assure you, they weren’t doing much walking around…” she giggles, wiggling her eyebrows. “She took him up stairs to get laid. She’s always, and I mean ALWAYS, ever since we signed him, wanted to fuck him in that suite. Something about his suits or whatever,” Faith shrugs. “But I would guarantee, thats where they were.”

Shayna and Tristan walk up to the table hand in hand, Tristan looking more relaxed.

“This party has turned out fantastically!” Shayna speaks up as she puts her clutch on the table.

“Oh yeah, I bet it has. It’s a pretty SWEET party…” Faith smirks.

“Didn’t you have a tie on Tristan?” Oliver tilts his head to the side as he scans over him. “You also seem a little more… relaxed?”

“Yeah and you missed a button there, pal.” Faith points to his shirt with a giggle. “Starting the new year off right.”

Shayna looks at Tristan’s shirt biting her lip. “Haha, whoops.”

Tristan chuckles looking down at his shirt, quickly fixing the buttons, “Thanks for being nonchalant guys. Appreciate that one.”

“Oh Tristan come on. You know damn well I know every single time you get a blowjob, or tie Shayna to the bed,” Faith waves her hand at him. “This is no different!”

“Everything though?” Tristan looks at Shayna.

“I mean… not everything. It was no secret about the suite,“ Shayna giggles as she makes a check mark in the air. “That one is off the list.”

“Wait wait wait….what do you mean ‘not everything’,” Faith raises an eyebrow at Shayna. “That’s not in the notebook.”

“Uh, um…Damn that notebook!” Shayna looks at Tristan giving him a sympathetic smile. “Ok so when we were over with everyone to Olls for dinner like two weeks ago,  I gave this one a handy in the bathroom in the third bedroom. I have your towel that I need to give back to you Oliver.”

“Shayna!” Tristan scoffs, his eyes wide. “What the hell?”

“Oh come on, I’m surprised they didn’t even say anything. We were practically texting each other every five seconds. Faith was in the room, so was like everyone else I know. Who do you think it would have been?” Shayna tries to hold back her laughter.

Oliver shakes his head laughing, “You can keep that towel, Shayna. I’ve got extras.”

Faith giggles, “I KNEW IT! I told yo-...” she turns to Oliver, smacking him on the arm, “I TOLD YOU SOMETHING FISHY WAS GOING ON!”

“I thought it was just the hormones,” Oliver shrugs with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, Faithy.” He kisses her cheek.

“What else haven’t you told me, Shayna?” Faith crosses her arms, “I don’t appreciate this withholding of information. I tell you everything! It’s part of the code!”

“Tristan, can you go get us drinks?” Shayna smiles at him sweetly.

“Hell no I’m not,” he smirks at her crossing his arms. “I want to be here to defend myself just in case.”

Oliver grins, picking up his glass. “I love how weird you two are.”

“You don’t have to defend anything. You just get embarrassed. I’ll spare you…” Shayna giggles.

“I’m not embarrassed of anything. I love you, and I’m not ashamed of anything we do.” Tristan wraps an arm protectively around her shoulders. “Besides, I bet we win creativity points.”

“I don’t know about that one,” Shayna looks back at Faith with a smirk.

“Oh?” Tristan muses looking at Oliver, “really now.”

Faith shrugs innocently, “doesn’t say anywhere in the notebook that boyfriends and spouses are privy to this information.”

“Well there ya go. So conversation is over. Those drinks?” Shayna ducks under Tristan’s arm walking away from the table.

Oliver shakes his head with a scowl, “dammit…we need to find this notebook.”

Faith grins, following Shayna. “They’re itching right now.”

“Tristan is dying inside. He’s making that face where he’s amused, intrigued but also slightly scared. Where did we leave that book by the way?” Shayna steps up to the bar waving down the bartender.

“I have it at my apartment. It’s pretty well hidden too... you can never be too careful” Faith chuckles leaning against the countertop.

“Well, look who it is… Hunts, it’s been forever,” Shayna nods as Hunter approaches them.

“Shayna, Faith, you two look stunning!” Hunter smiles walking over to them, giving Shayna a hug first.

Shayna hugs Hunter “Thanks lovely.” She turns to the bar to order her drink.

“Amazing party, as usual Faith.” Hunter hugs her, kissing her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

Faith smiles giving him a long hug, closing her eyes, the familiar scent filling her nose. “It’s good to see you, Hunter.”

“Your hair… I almost didn’t recognize you.” Hunter reaches out sliding his fingers over her straight hair.

A warm blush rises into Faith’s cheeks as her breath caught in her throat, “Yeah, heh...I never straighten it.”

“You should.” Hunter smiles at her, “let me get you girls a drink. Late Christmas present.” He waves for the bartender.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that Hunts,” Shayna nods to him, quickly glancing at Faith. “I’ve already got us.”

“Shayna, I insist. If nothing else, a round of shots.” Hunter grabs the bartender ordering 3 shots of Patron for them.

“Oh...Hunter..” Faith shook her head, “Really...you shouldn’t.. It’s fine.”

“She’s my DD for the evening,” Shayna pulls the second glass to her.

“Oh come on, Shayna. One shot isn’t going to kill anyone. Besides, it’s early still.” Hunter reaches out grabbing the glass from her, “besides, you put this whole thing together, there’s no reason you should be the DD! I’ll get you guys a cab later. Just have some fun for a change. You work too hard.” He puts his hand on Faith’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Faith looks at Shayna, then to his hand, then away to the floor sadly.

Shayna takes her glass quickly tossing back the shot grabbing the lime quickly. “Ughhh… fuck. Oh what? We weren’t taking shots yet?” she drops the lime back into the small glass.

Hunter chuckles, “it’s fine, Shayna. There’s no time frame.”

“No? Ok…” Shayna grabs Faith’s glass with a grimace tossing the glass back quickly, stuffing the lime in her mouth as her eyes water. “Thanks Hunts, but uh, we have to head back to the boys. Tristan might think I was abducted because of this dress. We appreciate it though…” She drops the lime to the glass nodding for them to be taken away as she points across the concourse, turning back quickly to grab the glasses they ordered off the bar top.

Faith looks up at Hunter with a sympathetic smile, “I really appreciate the gesture, Hunter. Under different circumstances, you know?”

“Let’s roll DD, Tristan’s getting antsy. I can see him from here,” Shayna chimes in waving the drink in her hand.

Faith nods at her, giving Hunter another hug and a kiss on his cheek. “Come find us later.”

Hunter smiles sadly at her with a nod as she walks back towards Oliver and Tristan with Shayna.

“That was close. I had no where to throw the shot either and who would just waste Patron like that?” Shayna sighs.

Faith shakes her head holding her hand up to Shayna to silence her. Dropping her cell phone on the table with the boys she swallows hard, her face green, “I’ll be back, the smell of those shots. I’m literally going to throw up.” Faith quickly runs off towards the other side of the concourse towards the bathrooms.

Oliver looks at Shayna with a frown, “I can’t go in the bathroom with her. Can you go? Grab a bottle of water for her on your way.”

“On it!” Shayna puts her glass down next to Tristan as she trails behind Faith.

Tristan makes a face watching them run off, “Well, that’s not fun, is it? She’s still getting sick?”

“Yeah, not as frequent unless something sets her off.” Oliver sighs taking a sip of his drink.

“That’s really sad. Aimee was only sick for the first couple of weeks, then she was pretty much okay.” Tristan rubs his face with a shrug. “Hopefully she’ll feel better soon.”

“I hope so. I feel bad there isn’t anything I can do to help her,” Oliver nods in agreement.

Hunter walks over towards their table, nodding at Tristan and Oliver with a smile. “Hey guys, how’s it going?”

“Alright Hunter, enjoying the party?” Tristan nods at him.

“Yeah, everything is great!” Hunter nods, “Faith did an amazing job with everything.”

Oliver nods with a smile, “She worked really hard on this party, I’m happy to see it all came together with no glitches.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, is she okay? I just saw her run off with Shayna. I tried to get them drinks earlier as a little late Christmas gesture, and she wouldn’t touch it.” Hunter turns to Oliver, “I figured if anyone would know, it’d be you.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s okay. She’s just been feeling a little under the weather the last few days. The antibiotics and alcohol probably aren’t the best idea,” Oliver rambles, swirling the ice cubes in his glass.

Hunter rubs his hand over his head with a nod, “Poor thing. If she’s not feeling well, why would you have her drive?”

“Drive? Where?” Tristan looks at Hunter confused. “Home?”

“Uhhh...the girls….” Hunter points over to the bar, his brow furrowing, “well...Shay said Faith couldn’t drink because she was driving...but is she not...driving?”

Tristan looks to Oliver straight-faced, “Oh...”

“Just probably a misunderstanding,” Oliver coughs.

“We didn’t discuss travel arrangements with the girls,” Tristan takes a sip from his glass.

Hunter eyes both of them, “Misunderstanding? You didn’t come together?”

“Shayna wouldn’t let me get ready with her. It was a girls’ day,” Tristan shrugs at him.

“I’m surprised Shayna would have gone over there knowing how sick Faith has been.” Hunter takes a sip of his drink, “come to think of it, you’re lucky you aren’t sick too, Oliver.”

“I’m pretty sure Shayna and Faith are just immune from each other,” Tristan looks at Oliver.

“I’m immune from what? Faith?” Shayna slides her arm around Tristan’s waist.

“Immune to me?” Faith raises an eyebrow, her face pale and her lipstick almost completely off.

“Must be having some sort of weird conversation,” Shayna shrugs.

“You didn’t tell me you were on Antibiotics.” Hunter frowns at Faith, “I wouldn’t have pushed you..”

“Antibiotics?” Faith scrunches her nose, “for what?”

‘Because you’re sick, Faith.” Tristan stares at her.

“Oh...right...my antibiotics…” Faith looks at Oliver with a nod.

“Ok, cut the shit. What’s going on?” Hunter put his glass down on the tabletop, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets, “Something’s not right with this.”

“What do you mean?” Faith asks innocently, twirling the straw in her tonic water, pushing the lime wedge around. “I’ve been sick, so I’m not drinking.”

Gavin shoves Tristan over dropping a bottle of Fireball on the table, “DADDYS HERE TO PARTY!”

Ella sticks her hand in, dropping a handful of paper cups on the table, “Line em up, kids!”

“Who the hell gave you a bottle?” Shayna raises her eyebrow looking at Gavin. “Only you. “

“I paid for this. THANKS FOR NOTHING JP!” Gavin smirks looking at Ella.

“AKA, I stashed these in Faith’s office last week, and just went up and took them?” Ella grins, holding up a bottle of Patron.

Faith quickly puts her hand up, “No… please...no.”

“No Patron, save that for later,” Shayna shakes her head. “Not now.”

“No come on,” Ella pouts peeling the sticker on the cork.

“I’ll have one Gavin,” Hunter holds his hand up. “Whatever you’re pouring.”

“That’s the spirit!” Gavin lights up as he takes a paper cup pouring the Fireball. “Here you go. Tristan? Shut your face, here you go.” he hands him a cup with the amber liquid. “Olls? Shanya? Faith?”

Faith shakes her head taking a step back from the table, the cinnamon smell burning her nose. “I have to go.”

“Faith,” Shayna and Oliver call out simultaneously turning to look at her walk off.

“I’m on it,” Shayna walks after her.

Ella looks up, giving them a look, “What’s all that about?” She waves her hands in their general direction looking over to Oliver. “PMS?”

Oliver frowns looking over to make sure everything was okay, “Something like that.”

Faith takes a deep breath, shaking her head with a sigh. “I can’t do this, Shayna. Call me when you guys are ready to come home, I’ll be up in my office.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to sit upstairs by yourself. Do you wanna go home? It’s not a problem…” Shayna looks at her with sad eyes. “Do you need water?”

“No, I’m fine…” Faith forces a smile, “I want you guys to enjoy the party. I’ll be okay.” She tugs on her straight hair before tossing it over her shoulder, “I need to get my phone and stuff, but god help me if there are open bottles on that table.”

“If that’s what you want to do,” Shayna sighs. “Just let me clear the table real quick,” she turns to head back to the table. “Listen, bottles off the table. The smell is setting her illness off.”

“Lightweight!” Ella shakes her head, “Since when? I’m embarrassed for her.”

“She just hasn’t been feeling well,” Shayna gathers the paper cups up handing them to Tristan to throw away. “Take these, throw them out.”

Tristan grabs the cups, walking over towards the trash can throwing them out.

Gavin clutches the bottle of Fireball to him, “it’s closed, but you’re not throwing this away.”

Faith walks over quietly, grabbing her phone and clutch off of the table.  “Sorry…”

Oliver frowns at her rubbing her arm gently, “You ok?”

Faith nods, “I will be. I just need to go relax for a few minutes.”

Hunter pipes up, interjecting into their conversation, “Do you want me to drive you home, Faith? I don’t mind if you don’t feel good.”

“Oh, Hunter you don’t have to do that. I was just gonna go up to my office for a few minutes…” Faith smiles a little, “but thank you for the offer.”

“Hell no! You’re not going anywhere!” Ella grins half in the bag, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “This is your party, and we’re going to party!”

Tristan shakes his head, “Ells…”

Faith sighs looking at Oliver. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“We can go,” Oliver nods kissing her cheek, “it’s really not that big of a deal.”

“No, Oliver.” Faith huffs in frustration. “Not the party, all of this.” She points at the table, and the concerned looks. “I can’t do this.”

“Oh… OH.” Oliver slides an arm around her waist giving her a squeeze. “Well, if thats what you want,” he nods encouragingly

“I really didn’t want to talk about this,but I guess I can’t keep hiding things from you guys.” Faith picks at the fresh black nailpolish on her fingertips. “I just… I hope things can stay between us for now.” Faith looks around the table, “I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant.” Hunter repeats.

“PREGNANT?” Ella squeals.

“Whoa…” Gavin stares at her, before looking to Oliver with a grin. “Dude!”

“I’m going to be an auntie!” Shayna laughs squeezing Tristan.

“Wait! You’re not surprised as much as you should be,” Ella narrows her eyes at Shayna and Tristan, pointing a finger at each of them.

“I am excited, obviously.” Shayna glares back at her.

“You knew!” Gavin looks at them with a smirk.

“Of course I freaking knew,” Shayna smiles smugly. “Tristan knew by association and my sleep talking.”

Tristan chuckles, “You can find out anything you want to know when Shayna is tired.”

Hunter sat quietly, processing the conversation going on around him.

“That is so not true,” Shayna huffs, narrowing her eyes at Tristan. “What else have I… you know what. Don’t even say. I don’t even want to know.”

Gavin walks over giving Faith a hug, “That’s so awesome, Faith. Congratulations!”

“Thanks, Gavs.” She smiles giving him a squeeze squinting her eyes, “but get away from me, you smell like Fireball.”

“Sorry.” Gavin chuckles walking back over to Ella. “I didn’t know.”

“So...yeah…” Oliver smiles, “you know our secret.”

“I’ve been pretty sick the last few weeks. That really wasn’t a lie. I said I’d drive tonight because I obviously can’t drink. I’ve been trying to keep things quiet until we talked to the doctor on Tuesday, but I don’t want to lie to you guys. Just please don’t say anything yet.”

Ella smiles, “I can’t believe you told Shayna and didn’t tell me! But of course we won’t say anything! I can’t believe you’re having a baby!” She grins, bouncing on her toes a bit. “That’s so exciting!”

Faith giggles, “I know, it’s kinda strange, but we’re really excited.” She shifts her gaze up to Hunter, who stands quietly staring at his glass. “Hunts?”

He lifts his head slowly, looking between Oliver and Faith with a nod. “Congratulations, you guys will make great parents,” he says unenthusiastically, grabbing his glass from the table before walking back towards the bar.

 

“Alright then,” Shayna coughs. “The emotions on that one. Yikes.”

Faith watches him walk away sadly, “Yeah…I didn’t expect that to go very well.”

“It’s big news, Faith. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting that. It’s gotta be a lot to process.” Tristan shrugs, taking a sip from his glass.

“You’re right… I just don’t want to hurt him.”

“He’ll be fine. He always is,” Shayna shrugs her shoulder.

“He still loves you, you know,” Ella pipes in, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers before getting elbowed by Shayna.

“ELLA, Shut up!” Shayna snaps at her, giving her a glare before turning back to Faith with a smile, “As I was saying...He’ll be fine. So anyway… party time? We have something to celebrate other than the holidays now!” Shayna walks over, linking her arm in Faith’s. “Let’s go dance!”

Ella grins picking up the bottle she was clutching under her arm. “Um, yes?”

“Dance? Yes. Booze? No.” Faith chuckles, “Just keep that shit away from me.”

“Alright, keep the booze to the bar please,” Shayna grins looking over at Ella and Gavin. “Let’s go dance!”

Tristan grabs Shayna’s free arm just before she takes a step. She looks down at his hand then back up at him.

“Oh no you don’t, if you have anything to say you can come out to the floor and dance.”

“But…” he glares at her.

“Nope,” Shayna laughs picking her arm up and nipping playfully at his fingers. “You can come out there like a proper boyfriend.”

“Hey!” Everly slides by with London giggling. “Move it! They’re playing Sally!”

“You heard her!” Shayna grabs Faith’s hand. “It’s our favorite song!”

Ella shimmies past them pulling Gavin by his tie on to the dance floor.

“Excuse me Shayna,” Oliver slips in past her sliding his arm around Faith’s waist walking her to the dance floor. “Sorry!” he laughs as they walk off to the large crowd dancing in the multi colored lights.

“Oh great, there goes my dance partner,” Shayna pouts looking up at Tristan. “Come on grumpy pants. You know you wanna!” she wraps her arms around his waist, clinging to him. “Fine, whatever. Stand here. Be that creeper.”

Shayna lets go of Tristan turning to make her way to the dance floor.

“He’s such a grouch,” Ella yells out as Shayna approaches them.

“I can’t dance to save my life but yanno, whatever I’m drunk enough not to care,” Gavin barely moves behind Ella, slightly moving to the beat.

“I’m getting up in this…” Shayna shimmies behind Oliver. “OLIVER SANDWICH!”

“I’m not complaining, but I’m not taking a hit from him just so you know. You better jump in there. I’m keeping my hands in this direction,” Oliver laughs keeping his hands on Faith’s hips.

“I’ll dance with you Shay!” Gavin laughs from their other side. “Like a big sandwich!”

“Hey Deni, if you don’t come out here you can’t tie Shayna to the bed! Or can you since you broke it that time…” Faith yells out over the group waving at Tristan.

“FAITH! Jesus, shut up! You didn’t even drink!” Shayna whines, making a face at her.

“You broke your bed?” Everly raises an eyebrow at her. “You two have a problem.”

“He is a monster! I kinda knew that, I had this feeling…” Ella grins looking over at Shayna giving her a thumbs up. “Good for you, bad for your furniture though.”

“Ella! I don’t wanna hear that,” Gavin frowns looking down at her.

“If anyone was gonna destroy headboards, my money was on Deni. I’m just saying…” Ella shrugs at him.

“We should have put money on it,” Greta laughs from behind Gavin and Ella. “The dude is a beast!”

“Wait, isn’t your bed made of metal?” Everly looks confused at Shayna. “He broke a METAL headboard?”

“Oh my god, you are all so embarrassing…” Shayna’s face flushes a dark red.

“I’m honestly amused,” Oliver chuckles from his spot behind Faith.

"He snapped it clean off!" Faith grins, looking at Shayna over Oliver's shoulder, "why are you embarrassed? This is us you're talking to!"

“I know that, but never in the audience of the boys. Tristan’s not even over here to defend himself. I feel bad,” Shayna frowns.

“To defend myself from what?” Tristan asks sliding behind Shayna. “What could you all be possibly talking about now?”

“You broke her metal headboard?” Gavin laughs, snorting slightly.

Tristan turns Shayna looking down at her with a frown.

“Listen, I didn’t… Faith just yelled at you dropping that one,” Shayna sighs.

“Girl talk, notebook. I forgot everyone else was around. My bad,” Faith shrugs looking at Tristan with a smirk.

“I was almost hit in the head with a piece of metal, of course I told her so don’t even,” Shayna bites her lip.

“You girls chatter way too much for your own good,” Tristan sighs.

“DO JUST LIKE THE SONG SAYS TRISTAN, SHUT UP AND DANCE!” Faith yells out jumping up and down. “THIS IS MY FUCKING JAM!”

“You heard her!” Ella dances around throwing her arms up.

“Tristan, trust me. There’s shit I’ve done with Faith that I’m sure Shayna knows by now that I don’t even want to know she knows. Welcome to the club,” Oliver’s eyes go wide as he shakes his head.

“Yeah there is! How did that jersey go over Olls?” Shayna grins. “You know the baby was bartered for that. I hope the neighbors weren’t too upset with you know… that game you played outdoors.”

“And that… is what I mean,” Oliver shakes his head with a frown. “Because everyone needs to know that.”

“Jersey? Game outdoors?” Tristan grins looking at him.

“She totally beat me to it too. I’ll tell you all about it later. That’s fine though, I got the suite!” Shayna dances around between them. “They’ve done it in my apartment too,” she frowns. “Not exactly happy about that one.”

“You gave him a handy in my bathroom!” Oliver points at her.

“That’s not full blown sex Oliver!” Shayna shakes her head.

“And that’s enough for this conversation,” Tristan grabs Shayna twirling her around.

“Oh hey,” Shayna grins, giggling as he pulls her to him. “I think the vodka is kicking in.”

Ed Sheeran’s “Kiss Me” starts playing across the sound system, some of the crowd goes back to their tables, couples pair off.

“Can I have this dance?” Oliver smirks holding his hand out to Faith, pulling her in.

“Of course!” Faith grins wrapping her arms around Oliver’s shoulders, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Can’t take your eyes off those two for a second,” Everly points at Ella and Gavin, the two of them furiously making out.

Shayna slides her arms around Tristan’s waist, pressing her cheek against his chest. “I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet. And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now… Kiss me like you wanna be loved, you wanna be loved...” she softly sings along to the song glancing up with a content smile spreading across her face.

Tristan smiles softly looking down as they sway to the song together.

The song finishes as JP takes the mic from the DJ behind the booth. “Hey everyone,” he starts.

“Great a speech…” Gavin sighs, pulling back from Ella.

“Welcome, everyone.” JP smiles, encouraging everyone to come out to the dance floor. “Thank you all for coming tonight. It’s always nice to see you outside of the workplace in a social setting. When you reach the end of the year, it's my experience that three things happen: we speed up, then we look at what we’ve accomplished, and then, all things being fair we try to find some time to rest up. The first two are pretty much inevitable, but the third one can sometimes get by us. Well, I want to remind you tonight that you've earned the right to rest up a little. Our line of work asks a lot of all of us. Long days, late nights, and no matter how much we do, we know our clients will always want more - greater value, more wins, and ultimately, a run for the cup.”

The group cheers loudly at the mention of the cup. “FUCK YEAH, JP!” Kopecky calls out with a fist pump, causing the group to laugh loudly.

“Well, at least Sava is fired up!” JP laughs shaking his head. “Anyway, although we have done well thus far this season, it’s important to remember that we’ll need to be every bit as good for the next few months. One of the great things about this sport is that there’s always room for improvement. We can ALL work on doing something just a little better or playing a little harder. Make the tough plays, get those late goals, and when everyone does that, the results can be amazing. If there’s one thing I know about each and every one of you, it’s that there isn’t any player on this team, or any staff member working for this organization who wouldn’t fight for this team.”

“ESPECIALLY SHAYNA!” Logan calls out with a smirk causing the crowd to laugh once again.

JP laughs once more, “Yes, Shayna is a great example of a staff member who will do whatever it takes for the good of the team.”

“Do whatever it takes, I’m sure Deni would agree,” Gavin laughs holding his glass up at Shayna.

“Shut the hell up Gavin,” Shayna rolls her eyes with a laugh. “For fuck’s sake leave me out of this.”

“Alright, alright, settle down!” JP chuckles, “I couldn’t possibly end without saying “thank you” to our amazing staff who went above and beyond to make tonight possible for all of us. Katrina Wilson, Shayna Cavalcante, Kyle Stanley and Faith McCallium, we really do appreciate all that you do for us – and we couldn’t do without you. I also want to say a quick thanks to all of you players for turning up, for training so hard and sacrificing time with your families for the good of the team. There’s an old saying that “it matters not if you win or lose, but how you play the game” – and it’s an honor and a privilege to be associated with a group of people who play the game so well.” JP raises his glass to the crowd. “Enjoy tonight, you’ve earned it! Happy Holidays!”

Everyone the crowd holds up their glasses and cheer in agreement. The music starts back up, JP hands the mic back to the DJ getting a few handshakes has he returns back to Audrey’s side.

“The night’s still young, let’s go!” Gavin grabs the bottle off the table.

Shayna glares at him pointing to the bar.

“I know, Jesus mom…” he rolls his eyes at her, hooking his arm through Ella’s. “I’ll see you over there?”

Shayna nods at them. “Yeah, give us like a minute. Come on Deni! Anyone else?”

“I’m in,” Logan raises his hand walking after Gavin and Ella, Everly and London following.

“I’m good, but we can go with them if you’d like something?” Faith smiles rubbing Oliver’s back lightly.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to be sick again.” Oliver looks at her skeptically.

“I’ll be okay, I’ll just stand back a bit.” She smiles with a nod, “Come on, someone get this man some Jameson!”

“There we go!” Shayna claps as they cross the floor to the bar. “Olls is in, let’s go!”

Gavin calls the bartender over giving a list of shots for everyone. He passes the small glasses out and hands Faith a tonic with lime. “Ok, so this one goes to all of you, here’s to the new year. To Faith and Olls baby, awesome relationships and hopefully a killer rest of the season!”

“Aww, Gavs!” Faith grins, “that was really sweet!”

Everyone cheers, clink glasses with each other tossing back their drinks.

“I definitely can not keep this up,” Shayna squints as she finishes her glass.

“You’re looking a little...drunk?” Faith smirks patting Shayna’s back. “Keep it under control, booboo.”

“I had those shots earlier for you, the one at the table, a few drinks, now this. Ughh,” Shayna whines. “but maybe one more drink? You can carry me right?” she looks up to Tristan standing next to her with a smile.

“I’d prefer not to,” Tristan puts his glass on the bar. “Maybe we should wrap this up soon before you destroy that dress.”

“No! I like this dress!” Shayna runs her hand across the satin material at her waist.

“We can head out in a bit if you’d like? I’m kinda tired anyway.” Faith smiles at Shayna and Tristan, “that dress was expensive, don’t puke on it!”

JP walks over to the group at the bar, putting an arm around Oliver and Gavin’s shoulders as he stands between them. “My guys! Enjoying the party?”

“Hell yeah!” Gavin grins. “Can I interest you in a shot JP?” he waves his hand across the bar top.

“Fraternizing with my employees is usually frowned upon...but what the hey! I’ve never been much for following the rules anyway.” He winks at Shayna and Faith before nodding to Gavin. “Whatever you’ve got!” He smiles giving Gavin a pat on the back.

“That’s the spirit!” Gavin yells out. “Yo, we need some more!” he waves at the bartender. “Don’t look at me like that, he’s throwing this party! He gets what he wants!”

“Don’t harass the bartender Gavin!” Shayna laughs shaking her head.

Tristan grabs a few of the glasses off the counter, handing one to Shayna, passing another to Oliver before taking a third glass for himself.

“Ooh, I get another one?” Shayna smiles looking at the glass.

“That’s IT for you miss,” Faith chuckles, “You’re not destroying my car, I just had it cleaned!”

“She’s very good at controlling herself,” Tristan smiles happily, holding up his glass.

“I can walk home,” Shayna grins. “But no really, I’m so done after this.”

“No shot for you, Faith?” JP offers his shot over to her.

Faith holds up  her hand shaking her head, “No no, I’m good.” She smiles, “Thank you though!”

“ITS NOT GOOD FOR THE BABY!” Ella smirks, “I’ll drink hers!”

“ELLA!” Faith scoffs, narrowing her eyes.

“Baby?” JP raises his eyebrow looking at Ella quickly then to Faith. “I’m sorry, did I miss something?”

Faith runs her hands over her straight hair, taking a breath, “Yeah...so um…”

“We’re having a baby,” Oliver smiles, wrapping an arm securely around Faith. “Merry Christmas, JP.”

“Well then, that’s big news,” JP nods at them. “Good thing I have these then.” He reaches into his jacket pocket pulling out two red envelopes handing one to Faith and one to Shayna. “I suppose this won’t do much for you Shayna, unless you’re gonna tell me that you and Deni are next.”

Tristan shakes his head, “no. No babies here.”

Faith looks at the card, “JP, you already sent us holiday cards. I know this because I printed and mailed them,” she smiles with a chuckle.

Shayna opens the envelope looking in the card gasping, “Ohhhh, oh damn. Well, thank you JP. Wow, this is awesome! You’re the best ever!”

Faith looks between Shayna and JP before pulling her envelope open. Inside the card sits a check for $5,000. “Jordan...what?...Why?” She looks up at him, “this is so unnecessary.”

“This is really out of control,” Shayna nods. “I don’t understand. You drunk?”

“Not yet!” JP laughs, taking the shot from Gavin, “Don’t think your hard work goes unnoticed here. You two have really gone above and beyond this year, and despite our small setbacks,” he looks between the two girls, “you’ve earned this. Consider it a holiday bonus, a christmas gift, a performance bonus...whatever you’d like to call it. Your hard work is appreciated.”

“Thank you JP. Honestly,” Shayna hugs him. “Thank you.”

Faith hands the card to Oliver before giving JP a hug with tears in her eyes. “Thank you, JP. You don’t know how much this means for us.”

“I’m glad that it’ll help.” JP pats her back gently, “You’re not going to abandon me to become a hockey mom, are you? You’re irreplaceable here.”

Faith chuckles, wiping her eyes as she steps back. “I don’t know. It’s still new, and we’ve got a lot of decisions to make.”

“We have a while yet, so” Shayna smiles looking at Faith holding up her glass. “Let’s just enjoy now. She’s not running off anywhere.”

Oliver chuckles, “I love how Shayna said ‘we’, I’m just gonna sit this one out and let the happy couple make the decisions.”

“Oh please, Oliver,” Shayna sticks her tongue out at him. “Get with it, I’m apart of this relationship. I was here first.”

Faith giggles shaking her head, “You two. So possessive.”

“I’m just saying, I didn’t realize I needed to buy two engagement rings.” Oliver kisses Faith’s cheek with a smile.

“I’ll just be over here then,” Tristan smirks taking a sip from his glass.

“Oh no you won’t,” Shayna wraps her arms around his waist, grinning at him, yawning slightly.

“Mmm, someone’s tired or the liquor is hitting you hard,” Tristan laughs kissing her forehead.

“I think its time we call it a night,” Faith smiles, “We’re all pretty tired, god knows I am. These shoes were a horrible idea.”

“No, they weren’t.” Oliver smirks giving her the once over, the the liquor settling in. “Nothing about them was a bad idea.”

“They are really awesome fuck me shoes,” Shayna nods pointing at her shoes. “They were worth it!”

“Fuck me shoes?” JP raises an eyebrow. “You know what,” he holds up his hands, “forget I asked.”

“Audrey has them!” Shayna laughs slightly leaning into Tristan. “But yes, I am tired and I want out of this dress.”

Tristan nods with a smirk, “You heard the lady. Nights over.” He rubs his hand up and down her back slowly.

“I think we are going too,” Everly nods at London who walks over to her from Logan. “Time to leave.”

“You all can’t leave!” Ella pouts looking at the group.

“I’m fucking tired. We set this up all day, then we had our hair done, I wedged myself in this dress and now the vodka’s slowly putting me down. I’m done,” Shayna waves at her. “Put a fork in me, done.”

“I agree with Shayna, with everything except the vodka. But, I’m also growing a human. I need to sleep.” Faith frowns to Ella, “you guys can stay, the party goes until JP kicks people out.”

“I’m pretty sure the party’s over at midnight, so get it in while you can,” Shayna looks at her phone. “You have about a half hour.”

“I plan on being in bed in half an hour,” Oliver yawns, “when did we get old?”

“Speak for yourself,” Gavin laughs holding his glass out. “Let’s go, we have a half hour! Just yanno, give me the bottle.”

“I’m not old! I’m just tired and tipsy,” Shayna shrugs.

“You’re not old baby, you’re just drunk.” Faith smiles, “alright, if you guys are good, I’ll go grab the car and pick you guys up at the VIP doors?”

“Sounds good. I need my coat,” Shayna looks over at Tristan. “Goodnight everyone! Enjoy the rest of the party!”

Faith reaches into Oliver’s jacket pocket pulling out the claim ticket for their coats and the keys for the car before kissing his cheek. “I’ll be back in a few minutes for you guys.” She passes Shayna her tickets before heading for the door.

Shayna walks to the main entrance handing over her ticket for her coat at the table just before the door.

“You brought a coat, smart,” Tristan takes the coat from the guy at the table turning it in his hands holding it out for Shayna to slip her arms into it.

“Thanks boo,” Shayna smiles buttoning it up as she walks to the door.

A few minutes pass before Faith drives up in Olivers black Range Rover, tooting the horn to get their attention.

Tristan opens the back door for Shayna to slide in. He makes sure she’s completely in before he shuts the door and walks around to the other side, getting in next to her.

“I guess you’ll have to get your car tomorrow?” Shayna asks leaning up on the seat in front of her.

“Yeah, I talked to Roman at the gate, and told him I was leaving my car overnight, and would grab it tomorrow. He winked and told me that he would watch it for me,” Faith chuckles. “I figured this was the better option to get everyone home. Besides, I’d rather have the nice car safe at home.”

Tristan turns to Shayna with glassy eyes and a grin, his hand resting on her upper thigh, “it’s roomy back here…”

“Oooh, look who’s finally feeling the shit he drank,” Shayna giggles looking back at him with a smile. “It is roomy though. Good choice.”

“Thats not all I’m feeling.” Tristan purses his lips, his hand slipping under the bottom of her dress.

“Hey hey… no feeling yet. We’ll be home in 5 minutes.” Faith chuckles, “keep that shit to yourselves.”

Shayna giggles sliding closer to Tristan, her hand going to the back of his head softly running through his short hair. “Keep it together, we’re almost home.”

Tristan leans forward pressing his mouth to her neck, mumbling in French.

“Damnit, why did I take spanish!” Faith chuckles as she navigates the streets of Seattle.

“Fuck my life, come on! You had to go with the French?” Shayna moans softly tilting her head to the side. “You’re so mean! I can’t make any promises, Faith.”

“Oh shush, we’re almost there. Just keep your clothes on,” Faith chuckles looking over to Oliver, “You ok over there?”

Oliver turns his head with a goofy smile and a nod. “Yep. I’m goooood.”

“Oh Jesus.” Faith shakes her head with a laugh. “Great.” She turns the car into the parking deck of their apartment building punching her code at the gate. “OK, we’re here! I just have to park.”

“Thank god, get off Tristan. We’re home. Just like two seconds and we will be upstairs,” Shayna grabs Tristan’s face in her hands looking at him. “We’re home.”

Tristan strains against her hands trying to kiss her, “Shaynaaaa,” he whines.

“Why are you so handsy in the car? This is like Christmas all over again,” Shayna giggles sliding towards the door. “Thank god we are here. Ok, get out of the car,” she slides against the door opening it before Faith can put the car in park.

“JESUS Shayna!” Faith stops the car abruptly, putting it in park. “My god, give me a heart attack!” She quickly undoes her seatbelt, jumping out of the car.

“You were in the parking spot! Come on Tristan,” Shayna sighs as she shuts her door walking to the back of the truck.

Oliver slips out the door, looking in the window of the backseat, “Oh...Hi Tristan!” he looks at Shayna with a grin, pointing at the window. “Tristan’s in there!”

“I know, I need to help him out,” Shayna walks around to the drivers side opening the passenger door. “Hi Deniboo, you coming?”

Oliver turns to Faith with the same astonished look spread across his face, “Baby, Tristan’s in there!”

Faith giggles looping her hand through his arm giving it a gentle tug, “is he? Wow, we should go upstairs and maybe he will come over!”

“I’m sorry Oliver,” Tristan slides out of the truck towering over Shayna as she pushes him to the side, closing the door after him. “I’m going to Shayna’s house.”

Oliver looks over at him with sad eyes, “You’re not coming over?”

Faith bites her lip with a giggle, looking at Shayna, “Oh that just broke my heart.”

“I promised Shayna I would help her with her dress,” Tristan smiles taking Shayna’s hand as they start walking to the elevators.

“But...you can help her at Faith’s!” Oliver furrows his brow, “I can help too. And I know Faith would help! They’re best friends!”

“Ohhh...we’ll I don’t think Shayna wants our help Ollie.” Faith swings their arms gently as they walk to catch up with Shayna and Tristan. “Maybe they can come over tomorrow? We should go to bed, I’m really tired.”

“Sorry Olls, we’re going to bed when we get upstairs,” Shayna smiles as she walks into the elevator pulling Tristan with her.

“Yeah we are,” Tristan laughs sliding his arms around Shayna shoulders.

Faith kisses Oliver’s cheek. “We can see them tomorrow,” She steps in the elevator, pushing the button for their floor. “Besides, I think they want some alone time,” she winks at him.

“Tristan, can you stop speaking French in my ear right now,” Shayna squeaks looking back at Tristan. “I don’t want to drown anyone in this small space.”

Faith chuckles, pushing Oliver out the door of the elevator, turning to the left towards her apartment. “Good night you two, if you need anything Shay, just call.”

“Goodnight you guys!” Shayna waves as they walk out of the elevator crossing the hall, Tristan still attached to her back, his arms around her. “I need the keys out of your pocket. Mine are in Faith’s car.”

“You can get them,” Tristan holds out his arm nodding to his jacket pocket.

Shayna sighs turning around in his arms, sliding her hand into his pocket pulling the keys out. Tristan backs her up against the door, his arms framing her sides. “Just give me a second to unlock the door, please,” Shayna laughs turning around to unlock the door. “Ugh, it’s gonna be long night.”

 


	26. So this is the new year....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shayna and Faith have a New Year's Eve tradition going back since the beginning of their friendship where they spend New Year's Eve in PJs hanging out watching typical New Year's programs and eating junk food. They've incorporated over the last few wearing footie jammies. Now this year, they have the boys... Do you honestly think Tristan's gonna wear footie jammies? LOL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Death Cab For Cutie's "New Year". 
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there audience! Sorry for the delay, I've had some issues at work. My company was sold, I had to find a new job so it's been a little crazy. We had to put everything in order and should be posting the next two or so chapters in the near hours or so. Thanks for toughing it out for us though! It is always appreciated! 
> 
> Comments & Kudos are love! <3

“I’m walking out my door in 10 seconds. You better open your door, I have three big plates and not a lot of balance!” Faith smiles into the phone as she pulls the hors d'oeuvres out of the oven.

“It is open. I’ll just crack it for you so you can walk through. Tristan! No!” Shayna yells muffled into the phone. “I gotta go, I’ll see you in a second. Would you stop…” her voice cuts off from the phone.

Faith double checks to make sure the oven is off before grabbing the assortment of snacks from the counter as well as the brownies she just let cool. Pushing her door open she quickly walks down the hallway, kicking Shayna’s door open with her foot. “Comin’ in hot, out of the way!”

“Are those brownies?” Tristan asks standing at the dining table watching Faith plow through to the kitchen.

“Yep...marshmallow swirl brownies! I only make these on special occasions, because they are a royal pain in the ass!” Faith sets all of the plates down, shaking her hands a bit from the heat. “But don’t touch the 4 on the far left. Those are the plain ones for Shayna, since I’m not allowed to make brownies without making her some.” She smiles, making a kissy face at Shayna through the walkway into the kitchen.

“I swear to god Tristan, you touch them,” Shayna holds up the knife in her hand.

Faith giggles, “I’ll be right back, just need to grab my preggo champagne and lock my door!”

Shayna walks out of the kitchen placing two large platters on the table as she looks at Tristan. “So those pajamas I left for you.”

“No,” Tristan looks at her with a straight face as he takes a carrot off the tray in front of him on the table.

“What do you mean no? That’s how this works. We hang out, eat, have some drinks and wear the onesies. There’s no question about how this works. Come on! Do you know how hard it was to find a onesie for someone who is 6’4”?” Shayna pouts as she crosses her arms.

“You can’t be serious though?” Tristan stares at her, “Shayna, this is ridiculous.”

“Go home.” Shayna narrows her eyes at him.

“Shayna!” Tristan smiles, “Come on. They’re just stupid pajamas!”

“Stupid? Stupid pajamas? You’re stupid,” Shayna huffs walking back into the kitchen. “Go home Tristan.”

Tristan follows her into the kitchen, “Why is this so important to you?” he leans against the counter. “I just don’t get it. Its just pajamas, Shay.”

“Because it’s tradition. Because it’s how I spend every New Year’s Eve and every New Year’s Eve to come after this,” Shayna sighs putting the paper plates on the breakfast bar. She rips apart the plastic wrap on the cups spilling them across the counter. “Because, that’s just how it goes.”

Tristan reaches out helping her pick up the loose cups. “Does it really mean that much to you?” He asks quietly, looking over at her.

“No offense but do you even pay attention? Clearly it’s important if I’ve done it for the last like 10 years,” she snatches the cups from his hand placing them on the bar.

Turning with a sigh, Tristan walks out of the kitchen with a grumble. “I pay attention, Shayna.”

Faith walks back in a few minutes later in her pink Stitch onesie with a bottle of sparkling cider in her hand. “I’m baaaaaaaaack!” She looks at Shayna’s pout raising an eyebrow as the door to Shayna’s bedroom slams closed. “What happened?”

“That,” Shayna points to the door, “is a problem.”

“Did you yell at him for eating the food again? Honestly he’s like a bottomless pit,” Faith shakes her head with a chuckle as she puts her bottle in the ice bucket Shayna hands her.

“No. He refuses to wear the pajamas. I mean, I didn’t think it was gonna be that big of a problem,” Shayna sighs as she dumps a bag of chips into the large bowl in front of her.

“Did you yell at him?” Faith grabs a chip from the bowl with a smirk before Shayna walks out of the kitchen placing it on the table.

“I told him to go home…” Shayna bites her lip glancing at the bedroom door.

“Shayna!” Faith slaps her arm. “That’s horrible! Go in there and make sure he doesn’t leave! You don’t think he’d leave?”

“I don’t know?” Shayna rolls her eyes walking across the living room. “God help me,”  she turns the doorknob slowly opening the door.

Tristan looks up from the bed where he’s sprawled out, his long legs hanging off the bottom, the black onesie sitting next to him. “Come to yell at me some more?”

“No. I didn’t yell at you. You’re so dramatic,” Shayna snorts closing the door as she walks over taking a seat on the corner of the mattress. She picks up the soft material, running her hand over it with a frown. “You will probably look so hot in this.”

He turns his head to look at her with narrow eyes, he says nothing but glares at her.

“You’re ridiculous you know that? Oliver is wearing a pair,” Shayna stands from the foot of the bed shaking her head. “Other than like one picture I’d probably post, that’s about it.” She flips the light on in the closet as she walks in closing the door behind her. “You don’t even know what you are missing,” her voice comes through muffled.

“Why are you getting changed in there?” Tristan rolls to his side watching her blurred silhouette in the frosted glass. Shayna opens the door sliding out as she shuts the light off clad in a matching black onesie. “Where are the Spongebob ones?”

“We broke tradition a tiny bit to accommodate you two. We figured it would be nice to ease you two in if we matched,” Shayna turns to look in the mirror as she adjusts the hood on the back. “I picked a plain black one because I didn’t think you would like a crazy one. I guess I was wrong on all fronts,” she sighs pulling her hair up into a high flip bun. “However… I think I can change your mind.”

“How’s that?” Tristan mutters watching her make her way next to him up onto the bed.

“Well,” Shayna smiles as she climbs across him, straddling his hips. “Look at how easy this is for later,” she giggles as she grabs the collar, pulling the zipper down on the front slowly. “So easy and accessible.”

A smile slowly forms across Tristan’s face watching Shayna’s hand slowly descend the front of her onesie.

“But!” she zips up the front in one quick motion. “I can take it away just as easy! And there will be no access if you don’t wear yours. The choice is yours but I highly suggest you put the pajamas on,” she starts to slide off of his lap slowly making sure to drag her hips across him.

Tristan grabs her before she climbs off, flipping her on her back so that he hovers above her. “That argument… well played.”

“I know how to work the system,” Shayna smiles looking up at him giving him a quick kiss. “So put it on now.”

Tristan smirks as he slides off the end of the bed. “Put more clothes on, you say?” he grabs the onesie off of the bed from beside Shayna.

“Not more…” Shayna sits up on the foot of the bed grabbing at the bottom of Tristan’s tee as she stands up in front of him pushing the material up his torso.

“Did Faith come back?” Tristan nods in the direction of the door. He reaches back pulling the shirt over his head.

Shayna stares at him with wide eyes looking at his naked chest. “What?”

“Eyes up here,” Tristan grins as he tilts Shayna’s head up with his finger under her chin. “I said, is Faith here?”

“Uh I don’t know, yeah maybe,” Shayna shrugs.

“You are horrible,” he laughs kissing her forehead grabbing her shoulders and turning her to the door.

“NO! I’m watching you put that onesie on,” Shayna pushes her shoulders back into him, digging her feet into the carpet below her. “I didn’t even put socks on! You messed up my hair!”

“Excuses,” Tristan shakes his head letting go of her as he turns back to the bed unbuttoning his jeans.

“Not excuses,” Shayna holds up her bare foot to show him as she pulls open a drawer in the dresser. “No socks.” She quickly grabs a pair jamming the drawer shut as she watches Tristan drop his jeans to the floor, bend over to grab them and toss them into the basket on his side of the bed. She grabs the onesie off the bed holding it behind her.

“Now you don’t want me to wear it?” Tristan asks as he walks over to her backing her up against the door.

“I do… but…. GO HOME FAITH, COME BACK IN LIKE 20!” Shayna yells at the door behind her.

“I’m fine! Eating chips!” Faith hollars in the direction of her room, “just keep the screaming to a minimum!”

“You heard her,” Shayna giggles clutching the pajamas behind her back.

“It will be more fun later peeling you out of them when you’re drunk,” Tristan shakes his head as he pokes at her side causing her to jump. He grabs the material from her as she slides to the side.

“Pffft, no fun.” Shayna pouts letting go of the leg.

Tristan puts the onesie on letting Shayna zip him up. “It’s not horrible,” he looks in the mirror as she tosses the hood up on him.

Shayna laughs as she opens the bedroom door, “I told you you’d look fine.”

Faith looks up like a deer in headlights, the chip bowl resting on her lap, her mouth full.

“And you said he was bad? Oliver isn’t even here!” Shayna laughs.

“I only had a few,” Faith looks down at the half empty bowl. “I spilled some too.”

Tristan takes the bowl from her looking into it, “A few?”

“I had a few and Bubbles had a few!” Faith smiles as she licks her fingers. “Don’t judge me, Deniau!”

“I’m not judging anyone,” Tristan laughs walking to the kitchen with the bowl.

“Where the hell is Oliver, I want to eat FOOD.” Faith huffs, checking her phone for a text.

Seconds later, Oliver busts through the door in his blue Stitch pajamas, the knob smacking hard against the doorstop, “STITCH IS HERE TO PARTY!”

“Oh Jesus,” Tristan looks out from the breakfast bar nearly dropping the bowl in his hand. “What the hell?”

“Wow,” Shayna laughs looking at Oliver.

Faith giggles looking back over her shoulder at him, “I see you’re embracing the pajama mentality.”

“Quick! What experiment number is Stitch, Oliver?” Shayna laughs jumping up and down.

“Shayna, please. 6-2-6!” He smirks at her, “challenge me a little, eh?” Oliver sits on the sofa next to Faith, propping his feet up on the coffee table, showing off his paw slippers.

“What the hell does that even mean?” Tristan asks placing the bowl on the table.

“Are you serious?” Shayna makes a face at him.

“He looks like a big blue koala bear,” Tristan shrugs.

“But a vewy, vewy cute koala,” Faith smirks, running her finger over the paw mark on his onesie.

“WAIT! Are we just going to not make this a big deal that he doesn’t know who or what Stitch is?” Shayna holds her hand out. “I don’t think we can date anymore… HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW STITCH?”

“He’s Canadian, Shayna.” Faith waves at her, “give the man a break! You can teach him!”

“We’re going to Disney World like tomorrow. I’m buying tickets. You need a proper education,” Shayna rolls her eyes. “Canadian? More like living under a rock.”

Oliver shrugs, “You two can sort that out later. For now, let’s get the party started!”

Faith gives him a look, “Babe...we are the party. This is about as good as it gets.”

“Accurate. We usually eat, drink and then watch random performances on TV. OH OH ONE DIRECTION IS ON TONIGHT!” Shayna claps. “Oliver, drink?”

Oliver nods with a smile, “Yes, please!” He looks over at Faith, “unless you don’t want me to?”

“No no, go ahead, enjoy yourself.” Faith smiles turning back to Shayna, “Give him two!”

“Sounds good! Tristan, wanna help me out?” Shayna nods to the kitchen.

“Yeah Deni, you gonna help her out?” Faith smirks, “since you two didn’t give it a proper go before?”

“We did not!” Shayna yells across the breakfast bar.

“Thats what I said!” Faith yells into the other room.

“I can see you right now, obviously nothing is going to go on,” Shayna pouts as she grabs cups from in front of her dropping ice into each cup.

“Unless we lay on the floor…” Tristan laughs grabbing the bottle of Jameson from the back counter.

“Shut up,” Shayna shakes her head. “Maybe later…”

“We could just go to Faith’s you know, if you two need a minute…” Oliver raises an eyebrow as he points towards the door.

“No, it’s fine,” Shayna pushes the cups in front of Tristan to pour the liquor into.

Tristan pours the Jameson into plastic cups, “Whoops, they’re full.”

********

“Is it almost midnight yet?” Shayna lays on the cushion of the couch with her feet over the back.

“Less than 10 minutes,” Faith chuckles, “Stay with me, Shay...Come on, Sit up!”

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!” Oliver hoots as he sinks the ping-pong ball into the solo cup at the end of the table, “drink it Trissssstan!”

“I’m awake,” Shayna kicks her feet out. “I want to play!”

Tristan takes a long sip of his cup, “It’ll probably be sooner rather than later, Olls is kicking my ass.”

“You have a nice ass, don’t let him kick it!” Shayna leans up looking over the back of the couch.

“You’re going DOWN, Deniau!” Oliver points at him with a straight face. “Going. DOWN.”

Faith shakes her head, “Come on you two, let’s get ready for the ball drop, ok?” She walks over to them encouraging them to come back into the living area.

“I have noise makers!” Shayna rolls off the couch with a little bit of a stumble. She walks into the kitchen digging around a bag on the counter. “Look!” she pulls out a horn blowing on it making a shrill noise.

Faith cringes, hurrying into the kitchen, “Ok, thats good!” She grabs the noisemaker, “we don’t want to jump the gun!” Gently grabbing Shayna’s arm, she guides her into the living room, “Okay, is everyone ready? Two minutes left!”

Oliver sits on the back of the sofa, teetering back and forth precariously on the edge. “I’m ready!” he grins.

“Ohhh...ok.” Faith hurries behind the sofa, standing behind him. “Okay, good. You sit right here.” She pats his back gently, trying to keep him from falling backwards.

“Shaynaaaaa,” Tristan looks up from his seat on the couch.

“Yeah?” Shayna walks around the couch to sit next him.

“Oh hi, there you are,” Tristan smiles at her taking a sip of his drink.

“Okay...one minute!” Faith looks around, making sure everyone was still awake, conscious, and paying attention.

“One minute!” Shayna giggles inching closer to Tristan.

Faith slides her arms around Oliver’s shoulders from behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder,  “you still with me, Olls?”

Oliver leans back against her, a grin on his face, “are we going somewhere?”

“Just pay attention…” Faith chuckles, “Shayna? Tristan? Still good?”

“Yes!” Shayna smiles as she throws her legs across Tristan’s lap. Tristan waves at Faith as he watches Shayna move closer. “30 seconds.”

“No babe, we’re staying right here until the ball drops, then we’re gonna go to bed.” Faith smiles, “Just a few more seconds.”

“Here we go! 15! 14!” Shayna yells out looking at the TV as the numbers flash across the screen.

“It’s already New Year in Montreal,” Tristan grins, his eyes glassy as he looks at Shayna.

“I know!” Shayna laughs rolling her eyes at him.

“10!  9!  8!  7!” Faith counts looking over at them with a grin.

“That’s Gav’s number!” Oliver smiles happily. “Babe, I’m tired.” Oliver leans his head back against Faith.

“Oh fuck this,” Shayna grabs Tristan’s face as she climbs on his lap attacking his mouth.

Tristan snakes his arms around her happily.

“Wait! But…” Faith huffs looking over at Shayna and Tristan. “Babe...Olls?” She shakes his shoulder lightly. “Great,” she shakes her head with a chuckle looking down at Oliver, completely passed out against her. “Happy New Year?” she says to no one imparticular.

Shayna leans back holding Tristan’s face still as she turns to Faith, “Happy New Year booboo!”

“You too, Shay!” Faith smiles, “I would come hug you but he’ll fall if I move?”

“OLIVER!” Shayna yells looking over at him. “Hmm, nothing.”

Tristan picks Shayna up placing her on the cushion next to him. He stands looking closely over at Oliver. “He can’t be out cold now! We didn’t finish our game,” he pouts. He pokes Oliver’s arm with no response. “Hmmm.”

“He’s ok guys. I’ll get him back to the apartment eventually.” Faith smiles, “don’t let us keep you from… ya know,” she points between them, “stuff.”

Tristan stands in front of Faith and Oliver looking down at him. “Oliver! Wake up! It’s only midnight!” he reaches out slapping him sharply on the face.

“TRISTAN!” Shayna yells trying to grab at his arm.

“DENI!” Faith gasps, half in shock, half laughing.

“Oh hey buddy,” Tristan smiles looking down at a now awake Oliver.

Oliver blinks a few times, looking around the room, “What the hell just happened? Did you just hit me?” he looks at Tristan, shifting position, almost falling off the sofa.

“Easy there buddy,” Faith shoves at him to keep him from falling, “Why don’t you sit on the cushion.”

“What the hell…. even just happened?” Shayna gapes at him. “You’re ridiculous.”

“He needed to sit on the couch,” Tristan shrugs grabbing his cup from the table. “And we have a game to play.”

“OH, Deni I think Ollie has played enough games for tonight. I think we’re just going to go to bed.” Faith smiles rubbing his shoulder gently, “Maybe tomorrow?”

“I’m not tired.” Oliver objects as he slides down the back of the sofa slowly. “I’m untired.”

“It worked!” Tristan throws his arms up in victory as he climbs over the back of the couch and heads into the kitchen.

“I don’t… I don’t even know what just happened,” Shayna looks at Faith. “I’m sorry?”

Faith shrugs with a chuckle, “It’s fine, it happens!” She walks over giving Shayna a hug with a grin, “Happy New Year!”

“If this is any indication of what this new year is gonna be like, it’s gonna be out of control,” Shayna laughs as she finishes her drink as she lets go of Faith.

“Here you go, Shay,” Tristan hands her a full cup and places a kiss to the top of her head.

“I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for us,” Faith smiles rubbing her hand over her little bump, “It’s going to be a crazy ride, that’s for sure.”

“I can tell you when we sat here last year and I was like ‘Haha, resolution for me will be a boyfriend’ and we had a good laugh about it, that this is what I was getting,” Shayna smiles looking back over her shoulder at Tristan standing at the table organizing the cups on the table.

“We won’t talk about my resolution from last year.” Faith makes a face, looking back at Oliver with a smile, “but I couldn’t be happier that it didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, I hear that. Who knew…” Shayna raises her eyebrows taking another sip of her drink.

“I’m glad this year turned out to be crazy, and I’m grateful that we get to spend another new year together. I wish I could cheers to another crazy year but, you can just drink mine for me.” Faith smiles.

“I certainly will! And when Bubs is born, we’ll drink then too!” Shayna holds her glass up. “Here’s to an awesome new year, a healthy Bubbles, and more fun!”

“AND a wedding!” Faith grins.

“Fuck yes a wedding!” Shayna smiles as she takes a sip of her drink.

“I’m getting married too,” Oliver waves from the sofa with a goofy smile on his face.

“Are you? I had no idea,” Shayna smirks at him.

“Shes my wife,” Oliver points to Faith, “you can’t marry her without me.”

“I came first Oliver, I win,” Shayna pouts putting her cup on the table in front of her. “And you didn’t marry her yet.”

Oliver nods as he pushes himself upright, “I know you came first, Shayna, but she’s my wife, not yours.” He smiles happily, “Besides, Tristan wants to be your wife instead.”

“What about Tristan?” Tristan calls from the table with a blank look on his face.

“You want to be Shayna’s wife!” Oliver nods.

“No, Oliver.” Tristan shakes his head.

Faith cringes, looking to Shayna.

“Shes MY wife.” Tristan corrects him. “Boys can’t be wives….Stupid.”

Shayna looks at Faith with wide eyes. “Did I hear that correctly?” she whispers.

“Sorry, Deni. I didn’t hear you?” Faith smirks.

“UGHHHH FAITH.” Tristan yells frustrated, speaking extra slowly, his accent coming through. “I SAID BOYS CAN’T BE WIVES. SHAYNA IS MY WIFE. I’M NOT HER WIFE.”

“Well, there ya go.” Faith giggles, smacking Shayna on the shoulder. “He’s not your wife. Glad we cleared that bit up.”

Shayna smiles, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “I’m your wife?” she turns looking into the dining area at Tristan.

He nods confidently, “Well, yeah. I love you. You love me. We’re best friends. Hey wait, isn’t this a song?” he smirks to himself, obviously thinking.

“Oh dear Jesus.” Faith rubs her face, “If he starts singing that song, I’m leaving.”

“DENI…” Oliver hollers from the edge of the sofa.

“What?” Tristan walks back into the living room.

“We should get married together!” Oliver grins looking up at him. “That’d be awesome.”

“Oliver. I already have a wife” Tristan points at Shayna, “Plus, Faith would be sad.”

“Shay, make them stop,” Faith grins shaking her head trying not to laugh, “the drunk is overwhelming right now.”

“I…. um,” Shayna giggles to herself.

“Girllllll, you’re so red right now.” Faith smirks at her, “and I’m pretty sure it’s not the booze.”

“I know,” Shayna mutters. “I’m so overwhelmed myself.”

“Don’t be overwhelmed. It’s a rush, but it’s a good rush,” Faith rubs her arm. “The fun part will be tomorrow morning whether he remembers all this or not.”

“He won’t remember,” Shayna laughs grabbing her cup, taking a long sip from it.

“Drunk words are sober thoughts. Never forget that.” Faith walks back over towards the sofa, “Ok drunkie pants, are you ready to go to bed?” She runs her hand over his shoulders, gently rubbing the fleece pajamas.

“Ollie has to go home?” Tristan pouts from his seat at the breakfast bar where he’s picking at a bowl of chips.

“Aww Deni,” Faith smiles, “Maybe Ollie can come over and play tomorrow.” Faith sticks out her bottom lip with a smile, “He’s so sad, Shay. Look at his face.”

“Baby! He’ll come play tomorrow. He’s tired,” Shayna gets up from the couch walking over to Tristan holding her arms out to him.

Tristan throws a chip at her with a frown.

"Oh dear," Faith giggles. "I think cranky pants needs to be punished."

Tristan looks up with wide eyes. "Punished?" he grins looking at Shayna.

“Don’t throw food,” Shayna smirks at him as she picks up the chip from the floor.

“Oh?” Tristan smiles mischievously holding the bowl out tipping it back and forth in his hand.

“I swear to god, don’t do it. You’ll be eating those off of the floor, Tristan.” Shayna glares at him.

He shakes the bowl, mimicking dropping it. “Oh, oh… almost,” Tristan laughs jerking his hand, the chips sliding around the plastic bowl.

“Shay, can we just crash on your couch? This one will never make it down the hallway,” Faith smirks pointing to Oliver who was slowly slumping over the arm of the sofa.

“Yeah, that’s fine. It’ll be an excuse to pull the sofa bed out. I’ll grab you guys blankets,” Shayna nods.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m gonna run back and grab some pillows and I’ll grab my comforter.” Faith smiles, standing from the cushion, “do you want me to bring some asprin back? You guys are all going to need it,” she smirks.

“I have a very large bottle of them. I think we’ll be good,” Shayna snatches the bowl out of Tristan’s hand. “Thanks boo.”

Faith bends down kissing the top of Oliver’s head. “Keep an eye on this one, he’s a bit of a mess,” she heads for the door. “Ok, I’ll be right back!”

“Are we having a sleepover?” Tristan places his elbow on the bar top leaning his head on his palm.

“No, well… maybe? You’re sleeping in the bed, they’ll be on the couch,” Shayna starts throwing out some of the remaining items on the counter out.

“You promised if I wore this…” Tristan smiles pulling the hood up over his head.

“I know that, don’t worry about it,” she blows him a kiss.

Faith barrels through the door, carrying a stack of pillows and dragging her comforter. “I’m here, I’m back. Ok...almost there.”

“We have to pull out the bed,” Shayna walks into the living room over to the couch. “Oh, ok,” she looks down at Oliver almost passed out on the arm rest.

Dropping the pillows on the sectional, Faith walks over poking Oliver to wake him up, “babe, can you come give me a hug? Come on, sleepy head.”

“I’ll hug you Faith,” Tristan walks over from the breakfast bar, wrapping his arms around her with a content smile.

“Oh…” Faith chuckles looking over at Shayna as she rubs his back gently, “Thanks, Tristan, that was very sweet of you.”

Shayna shakes her head tossing the cushions over the back of the couch with a chuckle, “He never touches anyone and here he’s hugging like it’s his job.”

“I don’t think he’s ever hugged me before,” Faith shakes her head, Tristan still clinging to her, “Okay Deni, thank you.”

“Stop hugging my wife,” Oliver points at him from the sofa, one eye open. “She’s my wife, not yours”

“Tristan, let go of Faith. Why don’t you go in the room and go lay down. I’ll be in in a few minutes. I just want to help them get set up.” Shayna glares at him.

“Okay, Tristan,” Faith pats his back, looking down at Oliver, “Baby, you want to give me a hug too? So Shayna can help make our BED.”

Oliver sighs, trying to push himself up, “I’m coming.”

“You’re a nice hugger, Faith.” Tristan rests his head on Faith’s shoulder, ‘You smell like apples.”

“Tristan!” Shayna throws a throw pillow at his back. “Let go of Faith.”

Faith giggles, stepping back from Tristan, “that was so nice of you, Tristan. Thank you, but I’m going to hug Oliver now, ok?” She turns to Oliver, “come here, you.”

Oliver stands up on shaky feet, wrapping his arms around Faith.

“OK QUICK, PULL OUT THE SOFA” Faith hollers at Shayna as she pats Oliver’s back. “Jesus you’re like dead weight,” she chuckles lightly, “hot mess, babe. Hot mess.”

Tristan stands off to the side with a frown, “Am I a bad hugger?”

Shayna pulls the mattress out, unfolding the legs nearly stumbling into Tristan. “Jesus, no Tristan, you’re not. I love your hugs.”

Faith smiles at Tristan over Oliver’s shoulder, “Deni, no! I loved your hug. You should give hugs more often! Will you give me another one later?” She let’s go of Oliver, grabbing the pillows from the sofa, “I’m just gonna make our bed, then we can lay down, ok, Olls?”

Tristan turns his head, “more hugs?” he looks over at Oliver before walking over giving him a hug.

Oliver hesitates for a moment before hugging him back, “you’re so warm, Tristan.”

“Okay!” Faith throws the pillows down, grabbing the blanket, tossing it on the sofa bed, “I think that's enough hugging.”

Shayna pulls her phone from her pocket snapping a quick picture. “I’ll need this for later…” she giggles. “Just to remind someone when he’s not touching people.”

Faith looks at Shayna, stifling a laugh, “They look so happy. Maybe we should leave them to the sofa and go in your room?”

“Bringing back the sleepover!” Shayna laughs. “Just like every year.”

Faith giggles, “I think eventually, that would get weird for them, but it would be funny as hell.”

“Tristan is a spooner, so that would be super awkward,” Shayna laughs watching the two of them still hugging.

“Well Ollie is a pretty hardcore snuggler. I don’t know that’d he would mind that.” Faith giggles, “I can’t do that to him…”

“Come on Deniboo, it’s time to go to bed,” Shayna pulls on the back of Tristan’s onesie.

“Ok, Olls, let’s lay down.” Faith grabs Oliver’s hand, pulling him back from Tristan, “This is awkward.”

Oliver reluctantly steps back towards Faith, looking down at the sofa, “Time for bed?”

Faith nods with a smile, “time for bed. Lay down babe, I’m just going to get you some water and advil.”

“Come on,” Shayna pulls Tristan in the direction of the bedroom. “In you go, I’ll bring in some water.”

“Oh, bedtime,” Tristan smiles following Shayna into the room. “Night, friends!”

“Ok, you get into bed, I’ll be right back. I’m gonna bring some water in and advil,” Shayna turns on the lamp next to the bed as she walks back out into the living room shutting the door behind her.

“Ughhh Oliver for the love of god, LAY DOWN.” Faith shakes her head, trying to get him into bed. “You’re like a child right now!” She looks up at Shayna with a laugh, “he just wants to dance. I don’t understand…”

“He was just passed out like two seconds ago,” Shayna shakes her head as she walks into the kitchen pulling out four water bottles from the fridge.

“I give him 5 minutes before he’s out like a log, but when that hits, his ass better be in this bed.” Faith gives him a shove, “Lay. DOWN.”

Shayna hands her two of the bottles with a smirk, “Good luck. Just go to sleep Olls! If you don’t sleep there’s no breakfast in the morning!”

Oliver sighs flopping down on the mattress. “FINE.”

“Thanks, Shay…” Faith smiles, sitting on the edge of the sofa bed, “Sit up, take these and have some water.” She hands Oliver the advil and a bottle of water before turning back to Shayna. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“God willing! Good night!” Shayna opens the door to the bedroom sliding in, the door softly clicking closed.

**  
**  
  


*******

Shayna groans as she cracks her eye to the light in the room. The darkening curtains keep out most of the light, a small amount streaming through in between. She tries to roll but is stopped by the warm hardness of Tristan pressed up against her back, his arm securely around her waist as he soundly sleeps. With a sigh to herself, she pries his arm from her waist, trying to slide out of the large bed with as little movement as possible to wake him. She sits up, moaning slightly at the head rush from the light hangover she’s currently suffering. Sure that she’s not going to fall over, she stands grabbing her robe from the closet door tossing it over her shoulders as she slides out the door into the living room.

Faith mills about the kitchen quietly humming to herself as she chops up various fruit. She has both burners going on the stove, bacon and homemade hash browns sizzling away. A rack of muffins are cooling on the counter, with a bowl of waffle batter sitting next to it on the breakfast bar. The waffle iron sits open on the counter next to the bowl, heat radiating out of its grooves.

“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine this morning,” Shayna mutters as she walks into the kitchen to the fridge grabbing  can of coke. “I totally forgot you guys were here. Good thing I grabbed my robe.”

"Thanks for that," Faith looks over with a smile, "I was vomiting at 5am, Oliver was drooling and whining all night, and I'm exhausted. I wouldn't exactly say ray of sunshine, but I'm happy. I'm with my boyfriend and my best friend and I'm wide awake, so I'm making everyone breakfast! It's a new year and I'm trying to be positive!" She holds up her mug with a forced smile, "decaf!"

Shayna nods taking a sip of the soda, “Gotcha. I’m excited for waffles. I’m gonna go put on some clothes and make sure Tristan puts on pants before he crawls out here, if he even surfaces.”

“Want me to pour a waffle for you now? I made fresh batter!” Faith smiles as she gives the bowl a stir, “What does Deni eat? I assume normal breakfast food?”

“Give me like 10 minutes. I need to check to make sure he’s alive in there and put some clothes myself,” Shayna nods as she walks back to the bedroom.

Tristan lays sprawled out across the bed, face buried in the pillow, his mouth slightly open, a soft snore escaping occasionally. The comforter is just covering his lower half, one leg sticking out to the side uncovered.  

Shayna laughs silently to herself, quickly snapping a picture with her phone. She opens the closet door stepping inside switching to a tee, pajama pants and Tristan’s sweatshirt. Quietly she slides out of the closet softly clicking the door closed.

“Shayna?” Tristan moans, his leg sliding back under the blanket.

“Good morning sunshine,” Shayna coos as she walks around to his side of the bed, sliding in next to him. “How are you feeling?”

“Bad,” Tristan pulls the pillow out from under his head, pushing it over it face.

“My poor Deniboo,” Shayna rubs his shoulders. “Faith is making breakfast. You could probably use the greasy bacon. It might make you feel better. I have some advil and water here. You wanna come out from under there?”

“No….you come under here with me.” Tristan pulls the comforter up over his head, his voice deep and tired.

“But Faith is making me a waffle,” Shayna pouts.

“But, I need you.” Tristan says softly, “please?”

“How about I go get some food and I’ll bring it in here and feed you it?” Shayna picks up the corner of the pillow looking under. “Does that sound good?”

He nods slowly, pouting his bottom lip, “hurry back?”

“Alright, I’ll be back as quick as I can. Make sure you pop out and take the advil and some water,”  Shayna leans in under the pillow kissing his bottom lip.

“Love you.” Tristan smiles a little from under the blankets.

“Love you too,” Shayna slides out from the bed and makes her way to the door. “I’ll be back.” She opens the bedroom door quickly sliding out and shutting it softly. “He’s just so--- ohhhh, alright then,” she chuckles looking at the couch at Oliver sprawled out across the entire mattress clad in only a pair of boxers. “Uh, Faith?”

“Not ready yet, Shay. It’s still soft. It’s taking longer than I thought,” Faith calls through the opening in the kitchen.

“Oh no Faith, it’s not soft, I can tell you that,” Shayna snorts, slapping her hand to her mouth. “You um, might wanna… take care of this?”

“I just touched it Shay, it was still gooey. Just a few more minutes and it should be ready.”

“Faith. No, I can’t. I just…” Shayna laughs “You need to come here. It’s not gooey!”

Faith turns the burner off on the stove, walking into the other room. “Hmm..Oh. OH.” She giggles, her eyes going wide taking in the sight of Oliver and his morning erection.

Shayna bites her lip trying to stay quiet, clearly amused. “Yeah um, how did I walk past this before?”

Faith walks over to the sofa, grabbing at the comforter. “Yeah, I’m not sure about that,” she pulls the blanket up over Oliver, lightly laying it across his torso. “Welcome to my life. Every. Single. Day.”

“At least he has boxers, the other one,” she nods in the direction of the bedroom. “He was all bundled up though in a comforter cave. He’s in rough shape.”

Faith nods, lightly rubbing her hand over Oliver’s shoulder. “Yeah, this one is going to be a disaster too. Normally he’s the responsible one. The poor thing has no idea what he’s in for when he wakes up.”

“I have to take some food into him and make sure he eats. I hope you don’t mind,” Shayna sighs walking into the kitchen to the cabinet for a plate.

“Oh, no that’s okay.” Faith follows her into the kitchen, pulling at the lid of the waffle iron. “This looks good now,” She flips the machine over, pulling the top off, “Perfectly golden brown!”

“So good! I might just eat this out here. He’s probably passed out. I’ll get the jelly,” Shayna smiles heading over to the fridge.

Faith puts a scoop of potatoes on Shayna’s plate. “I made your favorites, I figured since you let us stay here, it was the least I could do.” Grabbing her mug of coffee, she leans against the counter. “Are you coming with us on Tuesday?”

“Carbs, nom nom nom!” Shayna smiles grabbing a fork from the counter. “And yes, duh, of course! I need to see my godbaby, Bubs!”

Faith grins, lifting the bottom of her tanktop, “You hear that, Bubbles? You better be ready to meet us, ok?” she gives it a poke with a smirk.

“Yeah, you’ll need to smile pretty for the camera!” Shayna giggles as she stuffs potatoes in her mouth. “God this is delicious.”

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhh!” A loud groan echoes from the living room.

“Uh oh…” Faith chuckles taking a sip from her mug, “someone poked the bear.”

“Oh my,” Shayna looks over the breakfast bar into the living room.

“The poor thing,” Faith sets her mug in the sink, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge. “It’s going to be a long morning I think. Are you going to go feed Deni?”

Shayna nods taking a bite of the waffle, “Yeah, I’ll just grab another plate.” She steps over to the cabinet again grabbing out a plate, placing it on the counter and starts placing food on it. “It is definitely going to be a long morning.”

“If you need me I’ll just be in the other oom.” Faith walks into the living room, finding Oliver sitting upright on the mattress, his head in his hands. “Hi baby,” she smiles, “how’re you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck,” Oliver rubs his eyes, his voice raspy.

Faith sits opposite him, offering the bottle of water, “Here, you should drink some of this. Once you get some food in you, I’ll give you some more advil.” She rubs his leg gently, “you had quite a night last night.” She chuckles softly, “too much partying.”

“I vaguely remember starting to play pong with Deni, but his bright idea was that we keep drinking Jameson instead of beer because Shayna wouldn’t share. And then bits of the ball drop? Tristan was saying Shay was his wife?” Oliver winces as he adjusts his legs out in front of him.

“Mmmhmm,” Faith chuckles, “you two were BAD last night. Jameson pong, you and Deni kept calling me and Shay your wives, then you hugged it out, for a long time.” She giggles, “it was quite sweet actually.”

“A hug? Oh god,” he whines leaning back on the pillows. “There’s a picture of it no doubt.”

“You bet there is!” Shayna chimes in from over the counter. “It’s really cute!”

“For fuck’s sake,” Oliver sighs rubbing the side of his neck.

Faith grins, rubbing his back lightly, “drink the water babe, it’ll all be okay. Shay go see if Deni wants to come out and have breakfast with us. Maybe these two can console each other again,” she bites her lip, trying not to laugh.

Shayna holds the plate up, “Well, I made him a plate. Let me check him. Maybe they can compare…. stats. I think Deni has him beat though. I’ll just make sure he has pants on,” Shayna smirks as she walks across the living room to the bedroom.

Faith chuckles shaking her head, “GO.” she points towards the bedroom door. “How does your head feel? Do you want me to get you some food, Olls?”

Oliver looks at Shayna walk into the room with narrow eyes “I don’t  know if I want to know? My head feels like it’s going to explode. Maybe some bread?”

“You definitely don’t want to know." She rubs his cheek lightly. “I’ll make you some toast, and bring in some advil. You wanna stay here or come out to the breakfast bar?”

“Here, please,” Oliver rolls over pulling the pillows to him.

“I’ll be right back, I’ll go put down your toast.” She kisses his cheek before disappearing into the kitchen.

Shayna quietly enters the room looking over at the lump in the middle of the bed. “Babe?” she asks walking around putting the plate on the nightstand.

A muffled groan escapes from under the blankets.

“I brought some food, you wanna come out?” Shayna slides on the bed next to him.

“Turn off the lights,” Tristan croaks, his voice heavy as he stirs under the comforter.

“Baby, the lights aren’t on. It’s 10 in the morning. I have the curtains drawn as best as I can. I’ll give you a pair of sunglasses,” Shayna laughs.

Tristan sighs as he slowly pushes the blankets down from his head, a whine passing his lips as the light streams in on his face, his eyes squinting.

Shayna slides off the bed reaching over to the dresser grabbing his sunglasses. “Here you go. Just put these on a few minutes.”

Tristan puts on the glasses, his eyes blinking slowly, “thanks, Shay,” he offers a small smile. “What would I do without you?”

“I don’t know, but you’d probably call someone else your wife,” Shayna bites her lip with a giggle as she leans over grabbing the plate from the side table.

Tristan chuckles softly, “my wife?”

“Oh yeah, that’s how you referred to me last night. Olls said that we should get married with them but you said no because it would make Faith sad and that I was already your wife,” Shayna smiles picking up a piece of potato and popping in her mouth.

“Oh I did, did I?” He shakes his head with a smile, grabbing a slice of bacon, taking a small bite. “I’m sad I missed our wedding.”

“Me too! I wonder what I wore.”

“Foreshadowing.” Tristan smiles, stuffing more bacon in his mouth. “I’m sure you looked like a princess.”

“Oh?” Shayna smiles, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “Are you trying to say I’m gonna wear a big poofy dress?”

He shakes his head, “Not poofy, elegant,” he grabs her waffle, taking a bite out of it, speaking with his mouth full, “Lace and the shiny material.”

“I like the sound of that,” Shayna nods taking his hand with the waffle to her mouth taking a bite.

“Yeah I do too.” He sets the waffle down, running the back of his hand across his mouth.

“Feeling better?” Shayna asks looking down at the almost empty plate.

“A little,” He smiles at her, “thank you for bringing me this. And for taking care of me.”

“Of course, I’d imagine you would do the same,” she shrugs at him. “If you want more, I can get you more, or we can go out there. Olls and Faith are still here.”

Tristan nods, “I could eat more, if there’s more?”

“Mmmhm, just as I thought. Put on some pants and we’ll go out there,” Shayna takes the plate from him placing it on the side table.

“Pants,” Tristan sighs, “bending over…” he shakes his head, “not a good idea.”

“We have guests! Ugh, do I have to put pants on you? You’re sitting up right now,” Shayna narrows her eyes at him.

“If you pass them to me, I can put them on, but bending over,” he makes a face, “I can’t bend over. My head.”

Shayna nods at him, “Fine.” She slides off the bed walking to the closet. Opening the door she reaches in grabbing his flannel pants and his sweatshirt. “Here we go,” she smiles climbing across the bed holding out the clothes to him.

Tristan throws on the sweatshirt, and slides his feet into the pajama pants. Standing slowly from the bed, he pulls them up, holding the nightstand to steady himself. “Whoa, that was a bad idea.”

“It’ll be ok. We’ll get you some orange juice,” Shayna holds her hand out for him. “Gonna keep the sunglasses on? Or do you want your actual glasses?”

“Sunglasses. You have big windows in the other room.” He reaches out for her, linking his fingers with hers, “Juice, no. Just water.”

Shayna nods at him as she opens the bedroom door sticking her head out “Has Oliver put pants on?”

“All clear, Shay” Faith chuckles, calling out from the breakfast bar.

“Good, I’d prefer no surprises this time,” Shayna giggles opening the door, Tristan following behind her.

Faith and Oliver are sitting at the breakfast bar, the lights in the kitchen switched off. Oliver has since thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a red Scarlet hoodie, the hood flipped up hanging low over the top of his eyes, his head facing the floor to avoid the bright light from the windows.

Faith looks over seeing Tristan with the glasses and chuckles, "oh you poor thing. The two of you." She rubs her hand over Oliver's shoulders lightly, "I feel so bad for you guys."

“How are you not hungover, Shay?” Tristan lifts the hood of the sweatshirt up over his head. “You drank.”

“I did not play pong with whiskey. I also only drank maybe 10 beers the whole night and some water closer to the end of the night,” Shayna sighs. “I’m a little foggy but the Coke I had earlier and the waffle Faith made me made me feel a little better.”

"That waffle was handmade with love," Faith smiles. "Plus Tristan, when I told you boys to slow down last night, you know what you did? You acted like you were in the matrix."

Tristan looks over towards her, a slow smile spreading across his face, "that was awesome."

“That was pretty funny,” Shayna laughs pulling a chair out at the dining table. “You were pretty ridiculous.”

“I wish I remembered more of it,” Oliver huffs biting into a piece of bacon.

"My poor lightweight," Faith grins kissing his cheek. "Actually, you drank like a fish, you're not a lightweight at all. I'm not surprised you don't remember, but you two were pretty funny." Faith grabs the butter, spreading it across a slice of toast. Taking a bite she turns to Shayna with a smirk, "if I recall correctly, weren't we married?"

Shayna giggles taking the plate from Tristan’s hand, “I said I came first and Oliver said no. Then he told me Tristan wants to be my wife, to which he replied ‘No stupid, boys can’t be wives.’ and that we were married already. OH! And Tristan, you slapped the shit out of Oliver.”

"He slapped me?" Oliver narrows his eyes, turning quickly to Tristan. "You slapped me?"

Tristan looks at Shayna with wide eyes, “I slapped him? Like a mean slap?” He turns to Oliver, “I have no idea Oliver, I swear, I didn’t mean it? Maybe?”

“You passed out, and I couldn’t wake you up.” Faith giggles, “So Tristan tried.”

“You let him SLAP me?”

“In fairness, it happened really fast.” Faith puts her hands up in defense, “and it worked!”

“I wouldn’t have let him, but it did happen fast. I thought he was gonna shake you, which probably would have been just as bad. It wasn’t a hard slap, more like a wake up slap,” Shayna smirks waving her hand in the air.

“I’m sorry?” Tristan shrugs.

“You did wake up and wouldn’t go to bed though, you only wanted to dance,” Shayna giggles.

Faith stuffs the rest of the slice of toast in her mouth to stifle her giggles, “I love you, Olls.”

Shayna pulls her phone out from her sweatshirt pocket, “And here…” she unlocks the phone, tapping around the screen, “is the hug.” She holds her phone out to Tristan.

“We look… so happy,” Tristan raises the sunglasses on his face to look at the screen. “A nice bro hug.”

“I don’t think I’d call it a bro hug,” Faith smirks, “perhaps a sensual manly embrace?”

Shayna chokes on a potato, “It was ridiculous. Made me a little jealous,” she coughs.

“Me too honestly, but Tristan, thanks for hugging me first. I don’t think we’ve ever really hugged it out before. You’re quite the lover when you’re tipsy.”

“Super handsy,” Shayna giggles.

Oliver looks over at Tristan mid chew, “handsy?”

“Not like that, handsy on me. Hug friendly to others,” Shayna holds her hand up. “He’s so quiet and brooding normally. You get a little Jame-o in him and next thing you know he’s hugging everyone and trying to feel me up,” she shoulder shrugs.

“Jesus Christ, I’m not drinking anymore,” Tristan rubs his forehead with a sigh.

“No! I loved the touchy, feely, personal side of you, Tristan! It was a nice change.” Faith smiles, “It’s nice to see a softer side to you. Normally you’re such a hardass.”

“Touchy, Feely?” Oliver turns to Faith, “What am I, chopped liver?”

“Babe…” Faith gives him a look. “Stop. You know what I mean.”

“You didn’t hug me so I can’t say anything for you Oliver,” Shayna smiles. “I’m sure you’re a good hugger.”

Oliver pushes his chair back, wiping his hand on his pajama pants. “Shayna…” he holds out his arms.

“You serious right now?” Shayna looks up from her chair.

Faith smirks, crossing her arms, “$50 you get the squeeze, nuzzle, rub, graze, hug.”

Oliver looks over his shoulder shooting her a look, “excuse me?”

“It’s the same every time,” she shrugs, “go ahead. Hug him, Shay.”

Shayna looks at Oliver with a sigh, “You know, this shouldn’t even count. You’re not drunk.”

“I might still be…” Oliver makes a face.

“Fine,” Shayna slides the chair back slightly as she stands, holding her arms out to Oliver.

Oliver steps up to her, sliding his arms around her, giving her a tight squeeze. His hands lightly rubbing up and down her back.

“Oh you called it,” Shayna laughs stepping back.

Oliver pouts, his hands trailing down her shoulders. “What do you mean, called it? It was a hug!”

Faith giggles, “annnddd theres the graze. I’m telling you babe, you’re predictable. I love it, but… just saying.”

Shayna sits back down in the chair shaking her head as she picks up her soda taking a sip. She looks over at Tristan looking at her. “What?”

“Who’s better?” Tristan raises an eyebrow at her, his fork in mid air.

“Honestly? Obviously you, duh.” Shayna smiles sweetly at him.

“See, I disagree.” Faith stares at Shayna, “Tristan, nothing personal, but your hugs remind me of hugging a kid who's excited to see grandma. That soft, yet clingy and almost annoyingly long, kind of hug.”

“I love his clingy hugs,” Shayna pouts. “He’s like hugging a big, warm bear.”

“I don’t know. I’m more into a gropey hug, then a clingy hug kinda person.” Faith shrugs, “Oliver gives that smothering-but-feeling-you-up kinda hug.”

“I think it’s just because he’s so tall and big it feels clingy,” Shayna shrugs. “Whatever.”

“Size has nothing to do with this, Shayna.” Faith shakes her head.

Oliver leans in towards Tristan, “are they really bickering over this right now?”

“It would seem that way,” Tristan scoops up the last of the potatoes on the plate in front of him.

“Its cute when they fight,” Oliver smiles, “especially over us.”

“No one is ‘fighting’. Just proving a point that some hugs are better than others,” Shayna narrows her eyes.

“Yes. Oliver’s.” Faith crosses her arms.

“Tristan was drunk when he hugged you,” Shayna scoffs picking at her nail polish. “Shouldn’t even count.”

“It has to count, he doesn’t come near me when he’s sober!” Faith holds her hand out in his direction, “Invalid argument.”

“Obviously we’re not going to agree so the whole argument is in invalid,” Shayna sits back in her chair crossing her arms. “Conversation over.”

Faith looks over at Shayna with a nod, “Agreed. Sorry, booboo.”

Tristan slides his chair back picking up his empty plate from the table, “Sorry to break this up, but I’m going to shower and go back to bed until the outdoor game is on.”

Faith extends her hand to take his plate, “Oh, I’ll clean up Tristan. Don’t worry about it.”

“Nah, you cooked, we’ll clean up,” Shayna hands Tristan her plate with a smile.

“Thanks guys,” Faith smiles sitting back into the cushion. “Sorry I really went to town in there.”

“It’s fine. We’re just proud of our boys,” Shayna stands from her chair holding her hand out for Faith’s plate smiling.

Faith passes over her empty plate, grabbing Oliver’s from his sleepy hands. “You still with me, love?”

“Hmmmph.” Oliver mumbles inaudibly from behind closed eyes.

“Okay, that means no.” Faith chuckles. “You sure I can’t help you?”

“It’s fine, we’ll clean up, you can bring sleepyhead over to your apartment,” Shayna collects the plates watching Tristan walk across the living room into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. “I’ve uh, gotta make sure that one doesn’t fall asleep in the shower… I mean on the floor… of the bathroom or something.”

Faith shakes her her with a smirk as she stands from the chair. “Yeah, you better get on that. We wouldn't want anything to happen to him in the shower.”

“Safety first, just saying,” Shayna giggles walking the plates into the kitchen dropping them into the sink.

“Come on you,” Faith pats Oliver’s leg giving it a gentle shake. “Let’s go take a nap so Shay can shower with Deni.”

“Ok be right there.” Oliver mumbles as he rubs his face.

“Up.” Faith reaches down tugging on his hands. “Let’s go.”

“Hey Olls, do I need to get Deni back out here to give you a little slap jump start?” Shayna laughs leaning against the breakfast bar.

Faith giggles shaking her head, “that’s just not even right.”

Oliver pushes himself up from the chair with a groan, his eyes squinting to focus. “No slapping. Not even the fun kind. Maybe after a nap.”

“No fun slapping until next week.” Faith giggles, “well, at least until after Tuesday. IF Dr. Parker says it’s ok.”

“Nap.” Oliver tugs on Faith’s hand heading towards the door. “Thanks for the party, Shayna.”

“Do you need help with your comforters and stuff?” Shayna nods at Oliver while looking at Faith.

“Well, hmm.” Faith lets go of his hand to fold up the blanket quickly. “If you pile them up, I should be okay to carry it. I’ll just make him open the door.”

Shayna walks to the couch grabbing the first blanket and tossing it over Oliver. “There you go, it also serves at protection in case you walk into the wall,” she laughs wrapping him in the fluffy material.

Faith giggles, “Good call.” She grabs the pillows and the other blanket, heading for the door. “Text me later once you two sleep off the hangover. Grandpa over here is gonna be hurting for a while”

“We’ll probably surface later for the game and dinner. I’ll let you know,” Shayna holds the door open for them.

“Thank you!” Faith shoves Oliver out first, “Say thank you!”

“Thank you.” He mumbles, shuffling down the hallway dragging the tail end of the blanket behind him.

“I’m marrying a three year old.” Faith smiles, “Enjoy your safety shower!”

“Thanks!” Shayna waves watching them walk down the hall. Chuckling to herself she steps back in and closes the door.

**  
**  



	27. Baby, is someone else calling you baby?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the big moment, Faith's first baby appointment! And of course... some other shenanigans!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Luke Bryan's "Is Someone Else Calling You Baby?". Double the meaning! Haha! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Thanks for reading! :)

“Why do I feel like I’m going to be living in flats for the next seven months?” Faith chuckles as she walks down the small hallway from Shayna’s cubicle with her shoes in her hands. “My feet are freaking killing me and it's not even lunch time!”

“I don’t know why you don’t wear flats more often. I do at least once or twice a week just to give myself a break,” Shayna smirks.

“You think these legs and this ass just made themselves?” Faith grins looking over at Shayna. “The heels keep everything firm, and round. Besides, Ollie likes when I wear them. I believe it was something about the sound they make walking across the floor? I don’t know. Boys are weird.”

“Squats. Squats made this ass,” Shayna reaches behind herself patting her ass. “I can’t deal with shoes like that constantly. Tristan just likes to make fun of how short I really am.”

“We’re all the same height lying down.” Faith giggles, turning the knob of her office door letting Shayna in first, “After you, boothang”.

“Says you, he’s still 6’4” regardless,” Shayna chuckles walking into the office, stopping short of the desk. “Whoa, someone got a present.”

“Oh my god…” Faith walks over to the basket sitting on her desk, “this...this is huge!” She gapes as she sits at her desk, pulling the envelope off from the front of the basket which was filled with various baby items, toys and clothes. Inside the envelope is a picture of a bunch of baby animals overflowing from an arc a simple Congratulations!  written across the front. The inside of the card is blank, other than a short hand-written note.

“Faith, You’re going to be an amazing mother.  Love, Hunter.” Faith reads softly before looking up at Shayna with sad eyes. “It’s from Hunter.”

“Oh my,” Shayna looks over the basket. “That’s an interesting turn of events. Someone’s sorry.”

“I feel horrible, Shayna. He’s struggling with all of this, and I know it’s my fault. I don’t say that because I feel bad about what happened. I just don’t know how to make things better for us.” Faith looks at the card again before looking up at her. “I should call him, right?”

“I mean, you should say thank you. It’s really sweet of him to send you all of this. Maybe he’s coming around? Some people just take time,” Shayna shrugs sitting in the chair in front of the desk.

Faith nods sliding the card back into the envelope and setting it back inside the basket. “Maybe he does need time. I just want things to go back to the way they were. We were so close for so long, I hate that there's this awkwardness between us now.” Setting the basket on the floor next to her desk she sits down in her chair, resting her chin on her palm. “I’m texting him.”

**Faith (11:16am):** _You did NOT have to do that. But Thank you. That was really sweet of you_.

**Hunter (11:18am):** I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. I meant what I wrote. You really will make an amazing mother.

**Hunter (11:19am):** Are you free after practice today? I would really like to apologize. Maybe grab some coffee? Lunch? Talk?

Faith looks up at Shayna, “He wants to get coffee after practice…”

"You should," Shayna shrugs with a nod. "You two need to figure it out, Faith. Just talk to him, let him apologize, and if he goes off again put him in his place. You've never been one to let the Almighty Hunter Milda intimidate you." She grabs a small stuffed bear from the basket holding it up, "I mean seriously. Look at this stuff. He's a big softie inside."

**Faith (11:26am):** _I'd like that. Can we meet at the Beanery around 2?_

**Hunter (11:27am):** We're done at 1:30. I'll head over right after.

**Faith (11:27am):** _See you in a bit!_

*****

Looking herself over in the rearview mirror Faith throws on a touch of sheer lip gloss before getting out of the car. She almost felt guilty for being so nervous. Meeting with Hunter seemed like a good idea earlier in the day,  but now she was silently cursing herself for making these plans. Coffee shouldn’t mean anything to her, it shouldn't make her nervous, but for some reason her heart was racing. She takes a deep breath as she self consciously tugs on her top before pulling the door to the small cafe open. Spotting Hunter almost immediately she makes her way across the room, her hands stuffed snugly in the pockets of black leather bomber jacket. “Hey, Hunts.” Faith smiles as she approaches him.

“Faith,” Hunter smiles as he stands quickly from the small table, extending his arms for a hug.

Faith pulls her hands from her pockets, sliding them around his waist as he pulls her close. Closing her eyes she takes a deep breath, breathing in his familiar scent as his arms envelop her. Feeling a mixture of guilt and excitement, she gives him a tight squeeze, their hug lingering.

Pulling back slowly, Hunter halts at an arms length, looking down at Faith. “I’m sorry for how I acted, Faith.”

Faith nods gently, slowly pulling her eyes from his as she turns towards the table, "I know, Hunts.”

Hunter reaches out, pulling out her chair for her as she sits down. He walks around the table sitting down across from her. “I ordered you a decaf latte, extra foam, one sugar and a swirl of caramel.”

Faith smiles, “My favorite and decaf.”

“I know caffeine isn’t good for the baby,” Hunter mumbles, bringing his mug to his mouth.

“Thank you for your gift, Hunter. You really didn’t have to do all that. That was totally unnecessary.” Faith takes a sip of her coffee, lightly tracing her finger around the rim of the mug.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I didn’t really react the best when you told us.” Hunter looks up, his brown eyes sad. “I’m sorry I walked away from you guys. I’m just,” he trails off with a shrug as he sighs softly. “I’m having a hard time with… all of this.”

Faith reaches out, placing her hand lightly on top of his. “I know,” she nods, biting her lip. “I’ve been struggling too. We’re in a tough position, Hunts.”

“Faith, no offense, but you’re pregnant and engaged. I don’t really see you struggling with your feelings.” Hunter says sadly, sliding his hand out from under hers.

Faith sits back in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest, “That isn’t fair, Hunter. Just because we aren’t dating doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you. If I recall correctly YOU are the one that ‘dumped’ me. I was still trying to work through things.”

“Faith… Ugh!” Hunter shakes his head with a frustrated groan, throwing his hands in the air, “you don’t get it, do you?”

She raises her voice, frustrated at the way things were going. “Apparently I don't! I’m TRYING, Hunter. I’m not sorry that I love Oliver. I’m not sorry we’re getting married, and I’m not sorry that we’re having a baby.” Faith frowns sitting up in her chair, talking with her hands. “But Hunter, my heart is breaking for YOU. I wanted to love you. I wanted you for so long.” Her voice softens as she continues, “You’re an amazing man. You’re smart, funny, talented. You have the biggest heart, you’re practically flawless.”

“Don’t butter me up, Faith. I don’t need a peptalk.”

“Hunter any woman would be lucky to have you. You’re amazing. You’re sensitive, and caring.” Faith leans forward, her arms resting on the table. “Answer me this, when Oliver and I were fighting… why didn’t you make a move on me? You knew we were fighting.”

Hunter sits quietly, staring at his mug.

“Exactly. Because one of your most amazing attributes? You’re selfless. You know that you and I aren’t right for each other." Faith again reaches across the table, resting her hand on his, this time with no objection. "I care about you, Hunter. I care SO much about you. I always have. I want us to be friends again, not awkward ex’s. I want you to be in my life, and I want to be a part of yours.” Faith speaks honestly.

“I’d like that too.” Hunter slowly looks up at her, his brown eyes wide, "but I don't know how to be your friend, Faith." He laces his fingers with hers gently, "I don't trust myself to be around you.."

“You don’t trust yourself?”

“Every time I see you,  I kick myself for not trying harder. What if I didn’t end things, Faith? Then where would we be?” His thumb lightly rubbing over her hand as he speaks, “If I stuck it out, would you have fallen in love with me? I could have spent more time with you.. given you the space you needed. So many things I could have done differently. Maybe you would have wanted me instead.”

“Hunter, don’t do this to yourself.” Faith frowns, “You can’t spend every day what if-ing your decisions. You’ll drive yourself crazy.”

“You drive me crazy, Faith.” Hunter looks up from their hands, their eyes locking. “I want nothing more than to lean across this table and kiss you again.  Tell you I’m sorry for walking away from you, and beg you to give me another chance. But I have more respect for you than that. I know you’re happy.” He shakes his head, looking out towards the street, “but now I’m caught between a rock and a hard place. I don’t know what to do.”

“I can’t imagine how frustrating that must be.” Faith nods as she shifts her gaze down to their hands, a soft sigh escaping her lips. “But Hunter. If we can’t be friends, JUST friends, then I have to go.” She gently untangles her fingers from his, reaching to the table for her clutch before standing. “I wish things could be different for us.”

“Faith, no. Just wait, please. Wait.” Hunter quickly reaches out, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Please don’t go. I want to talk about this. I want to make things work.”

“Hunter, there’s nothing to make work. I’m marrying Oliver. I love him, and he loves me.”

“I know.” Hunter nods as he avoids her gaze. “Teach me how to be your friend. I need you to be patient with me. Help me, Faith, please. I don’t want to lose you again.” Hunter raises his gaze, his brow furrowing. “I don’t know how to do this.”

Faith lets out a soft sigh before sitting back down in her chair. “I don't know how to do this either, but, we're going to figure it out, Hunter.” Faith gives him a small smile, “we’ll figure it all out.”

 

********

Faith (6:38pm): Hi babe. Are you home? Please open front door in 2 min. Hands full. Getting out of car now. xox

Oliver (6:38pm): Anything for you. <3

A few minutes pass as Faith struggles to carry the large basket from Hunter along with her purse and bag from the office. Stepping off the elevator with a huff she leans her head to the side making sure the door was open.

"Holy crap. Faith! Why didn't you tell me to come downstairs!" Oliver shakes his head quickly pulling the oversized basket from her hands, a sigh of relief escaping her lips.

"Oh god, Thank you," Faith flexes her fingers trying to get the circulation going again. "I didn't think it would be that tiring! It's not that heavy just really awkward." Stepping into the condo behind him, she shuts the door setting her bags on the hall table.

"Where in the world did this come from? No ones supposed to know yet." Oliver sets the basket down on the small table near the sofa before grabbing at the card inside.

"It's from Hunter," Faith stands next to him, sliding her arms around his waist.

Placing a protective arm around her, Oliver reads the card with a straight face before laying it on the table next to the basket. "Well, that was nice of him."

"Yeah. I obviously said thank you when I saw it, and he just wanted to apologize so we had coffee after practice today," Faith says quietly, not wanting to upset him.

"Oh? Yeah, that's good that he apologized." Oliver nods, placing a kiss on the side of her head before walking in towards the kitchen. "I put chicken in the oven a little while ago. It should be almost done."

Faith watches him walk across the room, a strange feeling buzzing through her. "Olls..." She calls out to him, following him into the kitchen. "You ok?"

"Mmmhmm," Oliver deflects as he pulls the oven door down, peeking in at the chicken.  "These are done." He grabs at the oven mits reaching in for the tray before setting it on the rack to cool on counter. "Iceberg or Spinach?" He speaks quietly walking towards the refrigerator.

Faith sits at the breakfast bar watching him shuffle around. "What is it?"

"Salad, Faith." He calls from the fridge. "Spinach or Iceberg."

"Oliver. It was only coffee. That's all." She frowns

"Spinach," Oliver grabs the bag from the fridge, along with a tomato, cucumber and a jar of vinaigrette. He sets the vegetables on the island, turning to grab two large bowls.

"Can you stop for a second?"

"What do you want me to say, Faith?" Oliver presses his palms to the counter, stretching his back and shoulders.

"I want to know what you're thinking. How you're feeling." Faith shrugs, "I don't know."

"What I'm thinking? I don't like it. How I'm feeling?" Oliver grabs a knife from the drawer slicing the tomato, "annoyed. Disappointed. Upset. Frustrated."

"Ollie..." Faith sighs.

"I'm having dinner with Sophia next month in Dallas," he puts the knife down, lifting his head to look at her. "Hope you don't mind."

Faith narrows her eyes as she sits back in her chair, "First of all, that was a really shitty thing to say. Second of all, TOTALLY not the same."

"How's it different? Your ex. My ex." He grabs the knife again, reaching for the cucumber.

"Oliver, my god. You're making a mountain out of a molehill." Faith shakes her head leaning forward against the island. "We had coffee. He apologized for overreacting about OUR CHILD. Then we left. That's it!"

"Did you kiss him, Faith?" Oliver stares at the cutting board with a tight jaw, slicing the cucumber aggravated.  "Hug him? Talk about life? Catch up on what's new," drawing the knife back he catches the side of his hand, slicing into the skin. "FUCK!" He growls dropping the knife onto the island.

"See? You act like an ass, you cut your hand." Faith hops up grabbing a few paper towels from the roll, walking over to him. Pulling his hand towards her she presses the bunched towels together over the cut causing him to wince. "Oh stop, it's just a little cut with a lot of blood. No, I didn't kiss him. Yes, I hugged him when I walked in. He bought our baby a present, Oliver. I'd hug anyone who cared enough to love on OUR child," she gently lifts the towel seeing that it's still bleeding before pressing it back down. "You're jealous. Insecure. I understand that. But Olls, baby, nothing happened. I love YOU. I'm marrying YOU. I'm having a baby with YOU."

Hanging his head he nods looking down towards his hand. "I'm not seeing Sophie. I just wanted you to know what it felt like." Oliver frowns. "I guess in hindsight that wasn't very nice of me."

"I should've asked you first,"  Faith looks at his hand again, exposing a moderate cut on the side of his palm. "Wait here," Faith walks down the hall grabbing a small first aid kit out of the bathroom. She comes back in a moment later placing the box on the counter.  She pulls out an antiseptic wipe, a tube of bacitracin and a large bandaid. Turning his palm up towards her, she rips open the small cloth, "this will probably sting." Lightly swiping over the cut, Oliver flinches, the liquid burning the small wound.

"I know, I'm sorry," she lifts his hand, gently blowing on the affected area to ease the sting.

Oliver reaches out with his opposite hand, gently pushing her hair back out of her face, "You know, Hunter was right. You will be an amazing mom."

A small smile spreads across her face as she finishes cleaning the small cut. She slathers the area in bacitracin before covering it with the band aid. "All better," she kisses the top of his hand before gathering up the little mess she just created.

"Hey," Oliver puts his hand on Faith's shoulder to stop her. He leans forward giving her a quick peck. "Thank you."

"How are you supposed to hold our baby if you cut your hand open?" Faith throws the paper towel and band aid wrappers away. "I certainly can't hold her all day."

"Oh, she's a her now?" Oliver chuckles.

Faith smiles at him with a shrug, "You can ask her tomorrow, but I don’t think she’ll tell you yet." Faith picks up the knife dropping it in the sink, and then grabs the cutting board, dumping it into the trash. “Let’s just order a pizza and watch a movie in bed?”

“I like that idea,” Oliver grabs his cell phone from his pocket with his good hand to order the pizza. “What do you want on it?”

“You pick. Just no mushrooms. AND you can even pick the movie.” Faith smiles at him as she puts the chicken into a container to save for tomorrow.  

Oliver calls for the pizza while Faith finishes tidying up the rest of the kitchen. She pours herself a huge glass of water and grabs a bottle of one of Elysian Brewing’s new microbrews Oliver had picked up out of the refrigerator for him. “I’m going to go change into pajamas, I really don’t feel like wearing pants anymore,” she chuckles poking at her little bump. “They’re so tight now.”

“Go get comfortable, I’ll wait for pizza and come up in a few minutes with the rest of this stuff.” Oliver nods towards the stairs to the loft, grabbing some plastic plates and napkins.

****  
  


********

Faith sits anxiously in the waiting room of Dr. Parker's office, the foot of her crossed leg bouncing nervously as she waits for her sonogram appointment. She leans forward to check the clock on the wall for a third time since their arrival, huffing impatiently as she shakes her head, her fingers interlaced with Oliver's.

"Jesus Faith, you're going to bounce me out of the chair in a second," Shayna chuckles as she reaches out grabbing Faith's shaking foot. "If you don't stop I’m going to tell the girls back there to put you last."

"Relax, it's going to be fine." Oliver smiles leaning over to kiss her cheek. "They'll call us soon."

Faith nods giving his hand a squeeze. "I know, I know. Sorry, I'm just nervous. What if sh-"

"Don't even.” Shayna put her hand up to Faith’s face to stop her from talking. “You're not allowed to what-if anything about this. Everything is going to be perfect. You're going to go in, they're going to wand your lady bits, we're all going to coo, point and wave at Bubbles and everyone's going to cry." Shayna smiles putting a hand on her knee patting it gently. "Just calm down a little first."

"Faith?" Rose, Dr. Parker's assistant, calls from the small entryway with a smile. "Come on back."

Turning quickly to look towards Rose, Faith lets go of Oliver's hand, pressing herself up from the chair. The three walk through front section of the office where the regular exams take place. Moving beyond that, towards the back set of rooms, usually occupied by very pregnant moms having their ultrasounds and exams, Rose walks them into an empty room, equipped with an exam table and some ultrasound equipment. "First off, Congratulations!" Rose smiles rubbing Faith's arm before turning to Oliver extending a hand. "You must be Oliver. I've heard a lot about you. I’m Rose, Dr. Parker’s assistant. Congratulations, Dad."

Oliver nods with a smile, "Thanks!"

"And Shay, nice to see you too! Maybe we'll see you in these rooms soon?" Rose smiles warmly at her. "Ok so Faith, I'm going to need you up on the table, shirt pulled up under your bust, pants pulled down as low on your hips as you can. Dr. Parker will be in in just a few minutes!"

Faith hops up on the table pulling her shirt up to expose the small bump at the bottom of her belly, letting out an anxious sigh she runs her hand over the little lump with a smile. "Alright Bubbles, almost time to say hi to Mommy, Daddy and Auntie Shay! Don't be shy."

Oliver chuckles shaking his head as he stands next to the exam table, his hand resting on top of Faith’s."I still don't understand the Bubbles thing."

Shayna scoffs with a smile, "Bubbles ISN’T a thing! Bubs is a term of endearment for that sweet little baby in there. Jeez, Olls!"

A soft knock at the door causes all three of them to turn their heads, watching as Dr. Parker walks in the room with a smile. "Hi guys!” Tina Parker greets Faith and Shayna with a smile, “I'm Dr. Parker," she extends a hand to Oliver. "Well, Faith, I took at look at your bloodwork, and just as we suspected both your urine test and hCG came back positive, so, Congratulations to you." She smiles as she walks over to the machine next to the table, clicking on the screen. "Now since I'm assuming you don't know the date of conception, we're going to take some pictures of your baby to calculate the size and give you an estimated due date. This is a pretty easy process, just a ton of cold jelly and a little pressure on your belly in order to get a good look at what's going on in there, and make sure the little one is getting everything it needs. You'll be able to see everything on this monitor up here, and we can turn the sound on to hear the heartbeat, but you'll be able to see that as well" Dr. Parker grabs the bottle of aquasonic from the cart giving it a hard shake, bringing the thick gel down towards the lid. "Any questions? You guys ready?" She smiles at them, trying to ease their nerves.

Faith swallows hard looking to Oliver with a smile, "Yeah, I think we are."

Shayna slides in next to Oliver, pulling out her cell phone snapping a picture of the three of them. "You'll thank me for my obnoxious picture taking one day, it's about to get serious in here."

Dr. Parker chuckles with a nod, as she squeezes a large circle of blue gel on Faith's belly, "You'd be surprised how many people take pictures and videos in here, a lot of happy moments." She turns the monitor on and picks up the wand before pressing it to her skin, spreading the gel around. "Alright, let's see what we've got, mom."

Shayna switches her cellphone to record and points it at the monitor.

Dr. Parker rolls the wand over her belly as various images appear on the screen. Every now and then she would stop, changing the view on the monitor, or type on the keyboard. "Ah, there you are," She smiles as she rolls the wand down towards the bottom of Faith's little bump, pressing firmly into the skin. The image of the small c-shaped embryo coming into focus as she holds the wand in place, pressing a key on her keyboard, freezing the image. "And this… is your tiny little friend." Dr. Parker smiles wide at them, "you can see the head, the beginnings of arms, and legs, annnnd this," she points at the screen with her finger, "that is your baby's heart beating."

Oliver's grip on Faiths hand tightens as Dr Parker points out the baby's features, "My god, Faith look at that."

Faith brings a hand to her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears as she stares at the screen.

"HI BUBBLES" Shayna grins as a tear rolls down her cheek, sniffling with a chuckle. "Someone had to say it!" She takes a picture of the screen close up. “Wave for Uncle Deni!”

Faith lets out a small laugh, her eyes fixated on the monitor. "We made that."

Oliver nods blinking quickly, "yeah, yeah we did, Faithy." He leans down pressing a kiss to her head.

Dr. Parker clicks around on the screen, calculating some of the measurements, and freezing a few more images. "Would you like to hear your baby's heartbeat?"

Everyone in the room replies yes at the same time, causing a series of smiles and chuckles amongst them.

Dr. Parker flips a switch on the machine, as a strong repetitive whirling sound is broadcast through the speakers. "Hmm..."

"Hmm?" Faith looks up to her, "What hmm, is that a good hmm or a bad hmm?"

"Oh Faith, I'm sorry" she smiles, "Everything is fine, just relax." Dr Parker pats her arm with a chuckle, "it's all okay, the heartbeat is strong, I'm just, would you mind if we did a vaginal ultrasound to get a better recording? I don't think I'm picking up everything clearly. You hear how the sound is muttled? It should be a bit clearer than that "

Faith shrugged with a nod, "Yeah of course. Whatever is best for Bubbles. We call the baby Bubbles." She smiles wide.

Dr. Parker drapes a paper gown over Faith's lower half as she removes her clothes. After getting re-situated, Dr. Parker continues with the exam.

Faith looks to Oliver, the look on his face worth a thousand words. She chuckles with a smirk, "I told you, it's not always pleasant in here."

"That doesn't hurt?" He raised an eyebrow, trying his hardest not to look over the drape.

"I mean, I wouldn’t say its the most enjoyable thing to be stuffed in there, but I guess it could be worse," Faith made a face.

“Do you wanna go next Olls?” Shayna smirks sitting in the chair next to Faith. “I’m sure it can be arranged. Just wait til they get the clamps out,” she laughs taking in Oliver’s pale face.

"You guys are quite the amusing bunch," Dr. Parker chuckles at them.

Faith shook her head laughing at Shayna, "leave poor Ollie alone, Shay. This is a lot for him." She pats his hand with a smile.

Dr. Parker smirks looking up at the screen. "Well then..."

Faith looks back at her, "Tina you're killing me with these hmm's and well's."

She shook her head with a smile, "I'm sorry, Faith. Nothing to worry about. But, I just figured out what was going on with my heartbeat audio. It wasn't poor sound. There's an echo."

"...an Echo?" Oliver looks to her with concern. “What do you mean an echo? Is there supposed to be an echo?”

"Well," Dr. Parker moves the wand, the image of the fetus coming to the screen once more, the heartbeat more easily visible. "You see, the heart is beating pretty steadily here. 'Bubbles' has quite the strong little heart." She smiles, looking between them all.

"So what's causing the echo?" Shayna raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, that would be bubbles' twin," She repositions the wand, bringing a split image to the screen, clearly showing the outline of two tiny little embryos. "The echo we were picking up was baby B's heartbeat."

"Baby....B." Faiths jaw drops staring at the monitor.

“There is…. two? Like two babies? OH MY JESUS….” Shayna leans forward staring at the screen. “TWO BABIES?” she starts clapping her hands. “TWO BABIES! That’s two of everything! Good thing there are four of us.”

Oliver stood next to the table, his eyes wide, watching the two tiny heartbeats thumping on the screen. His mouth hanging open, his whole body tense.

"From the looks of things, they appear to be fraternal. We won't know for sure until we get a better look at things in a few weeks, but baby A and baby B look like they each have separate sacs." Dr. Parker smiles taking a few images off the screen, measuring the size of each baby. "Judging from things here, your babies look to be about 10 weeks, so you’re due right around the end of July, beginning of August. If I had to calculate a date, I’d say August 2nd based off the babies’ size and the date of your last period, but don't be surprised if they end up coming towards the beginning to the middle of July. Delivering at about 36 weeks is pretty normal for twins. Faith, everything looks great here. Two happy, growing babies.” She sits back from Faith, cleaning up the ultrasound equipment. “I’ll give you a minute to get dressed, and then come back in to chat.” She smiles pulling off her gloves, dropping them in the trash quietly exiting the room.

“YOU GUYS. ARE HAVING. TWINS!” Shayna grins slapping at Faith’s leg. “Snap out of it!” She shoves Oliver’s shoulder, “Both of you!!”

Oliver blinks a few times nodding at Shayna before looking down at Faith who lay quietly on the table staring at the monitor, the image of both babies frozen on the screen, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Fay...” Shayna shoos Oliver out of the way, leaning over to give her a big hug as Faith quickly wraps her arms around her, squeezing her eyes shut.

“BooBoo stop crying, this is so amazing. You guys made me TWO God babies!” Shayna grins as she stands back upright. “Bubbles is always going to have a friend to play with. You get to buy twice as many cute baby clothes. You get two smiles, two laughs, Four cheeks to kiss, four feet to play with..Twice as many hugs and kisses every night. We get to eat twice as many funnel cakes!” Shayna giggles causing a smile to spread across Faith’s face.

“And YOU.” Shayna turns to Oliver with a smile giving him a long hug. “Twice as many pictures to hang, and monsters to chase out from under the bed. Potentially twice as many boyfriends to scare away. Twice as many little skates to tie and games to watch, and twice as many Mommy’s and Daddy’s and I love you’s to hear. You guys just hit the parenting lottery!” Shayna took a step back, putting one of her hands on Oliver’s back, giving it an encouraging rub. “You guys are going to be the best parents to those two little babies in there.”

Faith sits up from her laying position, grabbing at her clothes from the counter next to the table. After redressing, she pulls her shirt back up, exposing her belly, slowly running her palm over the protruding skin. "You're right, Shay. You're absolutely right. I'm just overwhelmed with all of this. I was just finally getting used to the thought of being a parent to one baby, and now there's two." She pokes at her belly, "you two better behave in there! No fighting."

Oliver walks over wrapping his arms around Faith from behind, burying his nose in her hair as he rests his hands on her belly. "They won't fight. They're perfect. Everything is perfect." He kisses her cheek with a smile. "I love you, baby."

Faith turns in his arms giving him a tight hug, "WE love you, daddy," she smiles looking at Shayna over his shoulder. "And we love you too, Auntie Shay."

"Oh for fucks sakes, group hug!" Shayna chuckles hugging them both from the side.

Dr. Parker knocks softly at the door before peeking her head inside, "everybody doing ok?" She enters the room closing the door behind her, a white folder in her hands.

Faith smiles taking a seat with Oliver in one of the chairs against the wall, her hand resting on his leg, "we're okay… just a lot of news to handle at once."

"Pregnancy can be very overwhelming, especially when you're carrying multiples. It's totally normal," Dr. Parker smiles reassuringly. "The most important thing to remember is to listen to your body. You obviously have a strong support system around you, so make sure you communicate what you're feeling."  Dr. Parker says honestly. "Don't be surprised if you're feeling overwhelmed or tired frequently, that's completely normal. Oliver, you're going to be a vital part of this process as well. When you're pregnant it's often times assumed everything falls on the woman when in reality it's mutual. This is a partnership, you're going to need to lean on each other."

Oliver rests his hand gently across the top of Faith's as they listen to Dr. Parker. "We have a pretty open line of communication, there's really nothing that we aren't comfortable talking about together."

"That's going to be important. It's always reassuring for me when a couple is able to rely on and confide in each other. That being said, this folder has some pictures of bubbles and bubbles' twin. As well as your prescription for prenatal vitamins, some literature about pregnancy and multiples." She hands the folder to Faith with a smile. "Do you guys have any questions for me?"

"I DO.” Shayna blurts out quickly, “What about you know, extracurricular activities, doc? You know…” Shayna nods, her eyes wide. “...Stuff...”

"SHAYNA" Faith huffs embarrassed as she swats at her leg, her cheeks flushing. "Jesus."

“Someone had to ask! Who said it was only for you? Maybe I just want to keep that tidbit stored for my own use later down the road. It’s just a question,” Shayna shrugs nonchalantly with a smirk.

“This one? Keep her hands off Deni for any period of time? Doubtful,” Oliver snickers.

“Shut up Oliver, you know I’m just looking out for your best interests over here,” Shayna narrows her eyes giving him a grin. “Tristan tells me everything… EVERYTHING.”

Dr. Parker chuckles at the three of them, "Well, Shayna. As far as your hypothetical 'extra curricular activities' go, think of it this way,” She gives Shayna a wink before turning to Faith and Oliver. “Faith, I will use you as an example since you are currently pregnant, if having sex doesn't hurt you, it doesn't hurt the baby. Obviously, as your belly grows, be mindful of  it.” Dr. Parker turns to Oliver, “You also should be aware of it, especially if, for example, you’re normally on top. I have mixed feelings on the subject, but some doctors also recommend staying away from receiving oral sex. Sorry, Faith.”

Faith laughs uncomfortably, “heh...yeah.”

“For now, as far as having sex goes, you can just resume your normal routine. Obviously as time goes on, your hormones are going to be going a little crazy. Most women find that their sex drive will elevate once the morning sickness eases, which is typically after the first trimester. Most women say that having sex while pregnant is far more pleasurable than before being pregnant, but be sure to test your limits, as things are usually hypersensitive. You may find you’ll go through periods of heightened sexuality, where you feel insatiable. That’s normal. There’s no such thing as too much sex, or too many orgasms. Just make sure that you’re also getting enough rest.”

Shayna smirks, “I guess it’s a good thing you’re a top-6 forward. Well conditioned, with a fast metabolism!” she leans forward slapping Oliver’s shoulder. “go get em, champ!”

“Shayna!” Faith shoves her back into her chair. “My GOD!” she chuckles “Just stop talking.”

Dr. Parker couldn’t help but laugh. “That being said, other times you may find yourself with little to no sex drive at all. That is also normal. As I mentioned, your hormone levels will fluctuate drastically, especially with multiples. You may find yourself not feeling it, and that’s ok, but make sure to keep your lines of communication open with each other. It’s funny, many of the women I talk to actually say that in the third trimester their sex life plummets because their partner is afraid to hurt the baby. That being said, I assure you Oliver, your penis can not reach nor harm the babies. They are tucked safely away up in the cervix.” Dr. Parker chuckles.

“Lastly...you may find certain positions are more comfortable, or pleasurable for you and the babies. Most moms-to-be find that some of the most comfortable positions are woman on top, spooning, upright straddling, sitting on the edge of a counter or bed, or being entered from behind or 'doggy style’, but keep in mind the later in your pregnancy you are, make sure you support your belly. It’s all about what feels good for you, all of you.”

“Well...thanks...that was….informative.” Faith shifts slowly in her chair, her hand which was resting on Oliver’s leg subconsciously tracing lines up and down his thigh.

Dr. Parker nods with a smile, “you think I’ve said that a time or two before? Believe me, you’re not the only couple interested in maintaining their sex life. I mean, thats why we’re here after all, isn’t it?” After a moment of silence she stood from the stool, “any other questions you have for me? If not,  we’re all done for today.” Dr. Parker gently put a hand on Faith’s shoulder. “I want to see you in a month, and if you have any questions, concerns, anything. You just call me, ok?”

Faith nods her head with a smile. “I will, thank you.”

Dr. Parker nods at Oliver and Shayna before exiting the room. The moment the door clicks closed, Oliver grabs Faith’s hand, removing it from his leg, “We are going home. Right Now.”

Faith nods her head quickly at him with a smirk as she wiggles her eyebrows, her eyes bright.

“Jesus, would you like me to call Tristan for a ride home? You two look like you’re not even going to make it to the car,” Shayna stood from her chair with an amused look spread across her face. “You’d think you two were about to lose your virginity or something. Good lord.”

“I’d like to see you and Tristan go a month with no sex.” Oliver calls over to her as he presses himself up from the chair.

Faith nods in agreement as she bites her bottom lip, eyeing Oliver’s every move. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“Yeah, it’s really hard.” Oliver’s hand lightly running up and down Faith’s back.

“So hard,” Faith gives him the eyes, as she drags her nails along the skin just under the hem of his shirt while putting her arm around him. She quickly opens the door, exiting the room, and walking down the hallway towards the front desk. “Hi, I need to make an appointment for a month from now.”

Shayna looks at her phone waiting for Faith to make her appointment, checking emails.

“Shayna,” Oliver steps next to her standing by the exit. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Hmm?” Shayna looks up at Oliver. He holds his keys up shaking them at her.

“Can you drive?” he asks with a smile.

“Honestly… I swear to god,” Shayna rolls her eyes putting her phone in her purse. “You’re serious?” She snatches the keys from his hand with a sigh. “You so owe me… big time.”

Faith walks over to the two of them with a smile, “you two good?”

Shayna shakes her head, “Starting my aunt duties early so mommy and daddy can get off in the back of the car. I swear to god, if you two even…. just let’s go…” she opens the door of the office heading down the hallway to the elevator.

Faith slides her hand into Oliver’s giving his it a squeeze, “You’re really making her drive?” she smirks at him. “So desperate.”

“Owe me!” Shayna yells down the hall pushing the call button.

Faith tugs at his arm, pulling him towards the elevator, “Come on, let’s go home.”

The doors to the elevator open with a soft chime. Shayna slides in closest to the door punching the garage button. “Let’s go kids.”

Oliver steps in behind Shayna, pulling Faith behind him. Once the doors close he pushes her up against the wall, attacking her mouth with his own, eliciting a loud moan from Faith.

Shayna sighs, closing her eyes turning to the wall. “I love my friends…. I love my friends. Jesus Christ, come on elevator…” Seconds later the doors open to the garage level. Shayna sprints out navigating her way to the black Range Rover, clicking the button to unlock the doors.

Faith gives Oliver a small shove backwards, pushing past him. She grabs at his shirt, giving it playful a tug, a mischievous grin on her face. “Car… come on.”

The pair slowly makes their way to the car, their hands never leaving each other. Once at the door, Faith backs Oliver up against the door, bringing her lips to his once more. His hands quickly find the back of her head, tangling in her hair.

Shayna sighs looking to the passenger side of the car. She reaches into her purse pulling her phone out giving them a few minutes to go at it outside of the car. Scrolling through her contacts she clicks Tristan’s number.

“Shay… hey,” Tristan answers.

“For the love of Jesus, you’re going to have to talk to me on the drive home.”

“Everything ok?” Tristan asks with concern “Where are you?”

“Well, everything is good yes. They’re having twins. I’ll get to that in a second. I am currently sitting in the car waiting for these two to get their hormones straight. They’re currently making out up against the side of the car here in the parking garage. They have two seconds,” Shayna glances out the window again.

“Whoa twins?!” Tristan raises an eyebrow, his voice spiking. “They’re having twins, as in two babies.”

“Yup. Two babies. I’m so excited Tristan! Bubbles now has a sibling, SPRINKLES!”

Tristan chuckles, “Well, thank god Bubbles’ won’t be alone now. But Shayna. Really? Sprinkles?”

“Sprinkles, it works.” She shrugs. “Hold on...” Shanya looks out the window again with a grin. “It’s gonna get loud a second,” she leans on the horn rolling down the window. “AYO, FOR CHRIST SAKE WRAP IT UP OR I’M LEAVING YOU HERE.”

Faith jumps a foot in the air as the horn startles her. “For fucks sake, Shayna!” she yells in the open window.

“You’ve been out there for like two minutes, get in the car so you can properly do that at home and not in a public parking deck with me sitting next to you,” Shayna giggles.

Oliver takes a step forward, pulling open the car door, sliding inside. He reaches out, grabbing Faith by the hips, pulling her in the car facing him on his lap.

Faith grabs the door behind her, slamming it shut. “Fine. Have it your way.” She wraps her arms around Olivers neck, bending back down to kiss him again, moaning against his lips.

“Tristan?” Shayna asks into the phone clicking the speakerphone button on the screen, turning the sound up as high as it can go. “You’re on speakerphone so feel free to say whatever you want because these two are totally getting it on in the back seat. I swear to god…” she turns to back the truck out of the spot “If there is even any, ANY penetration, we’re no longer friends.”

“Uhh… hey guys, congratulations on the twins,” Tristan speaks slowly into the phone.

Oliver pulls back from Faith, “Deni, thanks man,” he breathes before bending down to Faith’s neck, his teeth grazing over the soft skin.

“ARE YOU DRIVING YET SHAYNA.” Faith huffs at her, “Such a hurry yet not going anywhere,” she brings a hand to the back of Oliver’s neck as she swallows hard, “Drive faster."

“This is what I am dealing with right now, Tristan.” Shayna sighs. “I am driving. We are leaving the parking deck but I suppose you can’t see that from your back now can you?” she laughs.

“They’re really making out aren’t they?” Tristan laughs.

“Making out is an understatement,” Shayna glances up in the rear view mirror tilting it down. “Well that was a bad move,“ she tilts it back up. “Keep those hands where I can see them Moreno.”

“I love you Shaynuuggghhhhhh” Faith whines as Ollie bites at her neck. “But shut the fuck up!”

Tristan snorts into the phone. “Was that a moan?”

“Yup. Yes it was…” Shayna giggles. “Tell me I’m a good friend Tristan.”

Faith reaches between them, working at the button of Oliver’s jeans. “You’re a great friend Shayna..”

“A really great friend.” Oliver leans back, creating space between them. “Really..really...great…”

“What the hell are you doing?” Shayna glances in the rear view. “No…no you don’t!”

“Eyes on the road Shayna,” Faith grins, biting her lip as she pulls down the zipper slowly. “Just watch the road.”

Shayna stops at the traffic light, reaching down to grab her purse from the seat next to her putting it between the seats to block the gaping space.

“Tristan, I’m being indirectly added to a threesome that I don’t want to be apart of. It’s gonna get awkward,” Shayna whines into the speaker in the phone on the dashboard.

“Its only a threesome if you join in!” Tristan chuckles, his voice deep. “Don’t be a peeping Tom.”

“I just had to put my purse in the space between the seats so I don’t see anything right now. Thank god I have my large Louie bag today, but the sounds in this car. Don’t encourage what’s going on right now.”

“Shay, Moreno hasn’t hit the net or anything else for that matter in the last like 10 games. I fully support this decision.” Tristan chuckles. “ATTABOY, OLLS!”

“Fuck off, Deni,” Oliver grumbles as Faith slid her hand down under his jeans with a smirk. “God Faith,” he moans as she rubs her hand over his growing bulge.

Faith giggles, leaning forward, pressing her body against his. “You like that?”

“I’m the best friend anyone’s ever had….. I’m such a good friend. I’m a good friend…. I’m a good friend.” Shayna repeats, her two hands gripping the steering wheel. “What did you do today while I was gone Tristan? Just talk to me, anything. Whatever you have to say.”

Tristan clears his throat, chuckling, “Does listening and watching your best friend hook up with her boyfriend turn you on.”

“TRISTAN DENIAU I SWEAR TO GOD….” Shayna shrieks, rubbing the side of her head.

Tristan laughs loudly, “Was that a yes? You know you’re trying to watch in the mirror. I know you too well.”

“No I’m not… no I’m not! NO I’M NOT!” Shayna sobs, her voice getting higher with each word.

Oliver has his hands up the back of Faith’s shirt, his head leaning back against the headrest of the seat. “You can watch Shayna. Just don’t crash the car.” He whines, shifting beneath Faith. “Don’t tease me Faith, come on.”

Faith grins shaking her head “All in good time, just relax.” She wraps her hand around him through his boxers, giving him a squeeze.

“Relax?!” His voice cracks, his hips pushing upward.

Tristan laughs harder, “Shay, baby, I gotta go, I can’t listen to this.”

“You can’t leave me Tristan… Please? Please don’t. I still have ten minutes til we get to our side of town,” Shayna whines glaring at the phone.

“Sounds like you won’t need 10 minutes,” Tristan smirks. “Sounds like you should be scott free in about 2 and a half.”

“FUCK OFF, DENI.” Oliver strains, “You have NO idea what I’m capable of.”

“You got that right,” Faith grins, biting at his bottom lip. “He’s got pretty impressive control…sometimes”

“For fuck sake,” Shayna frowns.

Tristan shakes his head as he sits back on the sofa, “You’re almost home baby. I’ll make it all better when you get here.”

Oliver tugs at Faith’s shirt, pulling the material up and over her head, tossing it into the front seat next to Shayna. “I’ll make it all better right now,” he coos at Faith as he cups her breasts in his hands before his arms pull her tight against his body, his hands sliding into her back pockets, cupping her ass through the material.

“And her shirt is off… I…. ughhhhh” Shayna grimaces looking at the material in the seat next to her.

“PICTURES OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN.” Tristan interjects a little too quickly.

“TRISTAN!” Shayna scoffs.

Faith giggles, “I’ll send you pictures Deni.”

Oliver slaps her ass quickly, “Bad girl, you will not.”

“Do you remember where my hand is? Slap my ass again, Moreno…” Faith narrows her eyes at him playfully. “Watch what happens, I’ll show you a bad girl,” a playful smirk spreading across her face, “a really bad girl.”

Tristan snorts, “I’m SO glad I’m not in that car right now.”

Shayna lets out a sob, “Thanks, three blocks from the building. These fucking traffic lights will be the death or me.”

Oliver lets out a throaty groan, “God, Shayna, me fucking too.”

“Thank god!” Shayna pulls up to the garage doors two minutes later, punching in the code, watching the gate open. “I’ll see you in like a minute Tristan.”

Faith pulls her hand out from Oliver’s pants, sitting back against the front seat.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Oliver returns his hands to her hips, “You’re not going anywhere.”

Tristan smirks, “See you in a minute Shayna. Your beer is already poured and waiting for you on the counter.”

“Bless your heart,” Shayna sighs pulling the car into the parking spot throwing the car into park. She grabs her phone off the dashboard throwing it into her purse. “I’ll just leave this running. Yeah, good bye.” She opens the door grabbing her purse, trying to not look in the back seat as she slides out. “It’s been real….” she mutters shutting the car door.

Shayna walks into the lobby of their building nodding to Rory as she passes through to the elevator bank.

“Shayna, looking a little haggard there… you ok?” Rory asks with concern watching as Shayna sulks across the lobby clutching her purse to her side. “You look stressed.”

“Just a stressful ride across town. Listen, if anyone reports a black Range Rover in the deck,  it’s Faith and Oliver. Just let them be. It’s been a while. Should be over shortly though,” Shayna laughs, rolling her eyes. “Shortly. Like minutes.”

“Erh, right?” Rory looks down to the small wall of surveillance screens to the left of his desk. “If it gets out of control I’ll have to go down there…” he nods with a smirk.

“I’ve seen enough,” Shayna waves as she steps on to the waiting elevator. “Have fun with that.”  Rory’s laughter echoes from his desk as the doors close her into the small space. Seconds later she steps out of the elevator digging through her purse for her keys as she approaches her door. She looks at her door with a smile, noting that maybe she should put a nice wreath out for winter. Sliding the key in she opens the door slipping inside with a sigh of relief.

“Hey baby,” Tristan calls out from the living room.

Shayna closes the door behind her walking in to the living room, smiling as she sees Tristan sitting on the couch.

“I see you didn’t die on the way home,” he smirks as he turns around, propping his elbows on the back of the couch, his head in his hands as he looks at her.

“I love my friends,” Shayna whines dropping her purse to the barstool as she unbuttons her jacket. “Honestly,” she grabs the waiting frosty beer glass from the countertop, taking two big gulps from it. “Ughh, that’s so good. I needed that.” placing the glass back on the counter, she takes a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing as she kicks off her sneakers.

Tristan holds his arms out to her, “You look like you need a hug.”

“A hug? That’s an understatement. Maybe I’m slightly overreacting but it’s not every day you agree to driving your best friend around while she tries to have sex with her fiance in the backseat of a car.” Shayna walks over to Tristan’s arms, allowing him to pull her over to the back of the couch and into his lap. “Did you purposely put on those track pants just to fuck with me now?”

Tristan laughs pushing her hair back out of her face as he cradles her on his lap, “You’re just turned on so much right now... shh. And no, I’ve been wearing them the whole time. Had them on when you left earlier today too.”

“I think you’re turned on enough for the both of us,” Shayna chuckles, rolling her eyes at him, rubbing her face on his tee, inhaling his scent.

****  
  


********

****  
  


“Finally…” Oliver lowers his head, pressing his lips to Faith's chest, “I thought we’d never get here,” he mumbles quickly against her skin.

“You are absolutely not fucking me in the back seat of this car right now. What are we 21 again?” Faith protests, her hands sliding up under the cotton of his shirt, rubbing over his back and shoulders. “Besides, I really really need to pee..”

Oliver stops with a sigh, his forehead pressing against her shoulder before slowly lifting his gaze, a defeated look on his face, “...really?”

Faith nods with a pout, “blame the kids,” she rubs a hand over her shirtless belly.

Oliver couldn't help but smile. He leans forward placing a kiss on her lips before gently setting her on the seat next to him. He climbs halfway into the front seat, retrieving her shirt, passing it back to her before shutting off the engine. “Come on, we’ll go inside.” He retreats into the back seat before climbing out the passenger door, extending his hand to Faith, helping her out. He fixes the button on his jeans, adjusting himself accordingly, before walking hand in hand with Faith through the lobby. “Hey Rory,” Oliver calls, receiving a nod in return.

“Shay was right, that WAS quick,” Rory smirks.

Faith snorts, doubling over as she laughs, “DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH, I’M GONNA PEE MY PANTS.”

"Come on," Oliver hurries her along towards the elevators, "No stalling." He pushes the button quickly, impatiently rubbing at the back of his neck. Once inside the elevator he quickly presses the button for Faith's floor, his hand resting under the hem of her shirt on the small of her back lightly tracing his fingertips along the band of her pants, unable to keep his hands off her. As the elevator ascends Faith steps out walking swiftly to her door unlocking the bolt.

"You. Bathroom then bedroom. Go," Oliver nudges her in the apartment, slamming the door loudly behind them. As Faith runs off towards the bathroom Oliver pushes open the door to Faith's bedroom pulling his shirt swiftly over his head, tossing it to the floor. He kicks his shoes and socks to the corner of the room before fumbling to undo the button on his jeans, his hands unable to move fast enough. Stepping out of his jeans and boxers he moves across the room, throwing each of the curtains closed on all three of the windows, the bright light of the sun disappearing behind the fabric.

Faith stands in the doorway watching Oliver’s naked form fumble with the curtains, a smile spreading across her face. "Mood lighting, I like it. You gonna light some candles and put on a little Kenny G too? Maybe burn some incense, and use some essential oils."

Oliver looks over his shoulder at her with a smirk as he pulls the last curtain panel over, "is there a reason you're not not naked yet or do you just enjoy the suspense?"

"You know I love the suspense, but I also know how much you love to undress me. So, if you're done with the drapes." Faith muses at him, her arms crossed across her chest.

"You have 10 seconds to get out of those clothes Faith, or God help me," Oliver eyes her from across the room.

"Or what?" Faith sits on the edge of her bed, "or you'll punish me for being a bad girl?"

"Faith..." Oliver warns, walking towards her.

"I bet you'd like that. Wouldn't you," She smirks scooting back on the bed as he nears, "You like when I'm a bad girl, don't you Ollie."

Oliver stands over her, his eyes narrowed and dark as he licks his lips slowly. "Are you seriously teasing me right now?"

Faith shrugs innocently, "would it be bad if I said yes?" She raises her eyebrows.

"You haven't let me touch you in weeks… WEEKS." He whines crawling up the bottom of the bed towards her. "And you're gonna do this now?"  

Faith smirks with a nod. "YEP."

Oliver reaches out grabbing her pants at the ankles giving a swift tug, sliding her down the bed towards him, eliciting a giggle from Faith as he hovers over her. "You think this is funny?"

Faith shakes her head yes as she pushes herself up on her elbows beneath him, "you have no idea how hot it is watching you get all worked up. Your forehead gets all crinkled, and you lick your lips over and over because you're breathing harder." Faith slides her arms up around his neck, her hand resting on the back of his head. "It's really sexy."

"You're really sexy," Oliver mumbles as he leans down dragging his lips across her collarbone on top of her shirt. He bites at the material, lightly pinching her skin underneath the fabric as he gives it a tug with his teeth. "Didn't I already take this off of you..."

Faith pushes herself up to a seated position, forcing him back on his knees. She reaches down pulling her shirt up over her head tossing it off the side of the bed with a sly smile.

Oliver sits back on his heels as Faith peels off her top, his eyes scanning every inch of her newly exposed skin. His mouth opens slightly, his tongue slowly passing over his lips which were curved up slightly at the edges.

"Penny for your thoughts, Mr. Moreno?" Faith chuckles, her body burning under his lustful  gaze.

"You'd need a couple of dollars for my thoughts right now..." Oliver reaches out, running his fingers across her bare shoulders, linking them under the thin material of her bra straps nudging the straps down her shoulders slowly.

"Lucky for me my sugar daddy is a Seattle Scarlet hockey player and my cashflow isn’t a problem." Faith chuckles, taking in the look on his face. “You’re so adorable when you’re pathetically desperate.” She brings a hand to his face with a smirk, “just like the first time we did this.”

Oliver reaches around her back, a smile spreading across his face as he places a kiss on her collar bone mumbling against her skin, “you tortured me purposely that entire day,” he unclasps the catch on her bra, discarding it off the side of the bed.

Faith nods sitting up on her knees, giving him a playful shove backwards before climbing ontop of him. “I wasn’t about to just give it to you, you had to work for it.” She takes his hands, placing them on the waistband of her jeans. “But, it was just as hard for me to resist you, as it was for you, trust me.”

“You were well worth the wait.” Oliver pops the button quickly, dragging the zipper downward. “All I wanted to do was ravage you from head to toe.” He pushes her clothes down just below her ass, as she helps him pull them the rest of the way off of her. “But, you took your sweet time, didn’t you.” He rests his hands on her hips, running his fingers over the smooth skin.  “That was one of the most torturously slow, intense nights we’ve ever had,”

Faith nods straddling his hips, biting her bottom lip as she hovers over him. “kinda like I was hoping we could do now.”

"You want slow and intense?" The corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "If that's what you want, baby."

Faith nods with a smile, “Yeah...that’s what I want.”

********


	28. Another place to let their hearts collide....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little fun chapter for Tristan and Shayna, a little party time for a good cause. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Ed Sheeran's "One". I'm a little sad I'm missing him this evening here in NJ. :( Plus it seems fitting with Shayna and Tristan. I don't own him, just love his stuff. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's left Kudos the last chapter and such. We really appreciate it and love it! Kudos and Comments are always welcome! :) Thanks for reading!

Faith wraps her sweater around her shoulders tighter as she knocks on Shayna’s door. “Open the door! I don’t have my keys…”

 

The door lock clicks from behind, whipping open to reveal Shayna glaring on the other side. “You have a key for a reason...” she opens it stepping back allowing Faith to walk in.

 

“Hi Faith,” Tristan waves from the couch where he is currently lounging in front of the tv.

 

“Tristan, how’s it going?” Faith smiles as she steps around the couch to take a seat across from him. “I’ve learned my lesson on just walking into this apartment unannounced. God only knows what you two are doing in here.”

 

“You don’t look so hot,” he scrunches his face at her taking in her tired appearance.

 

“Yeah, I don’t feel good at all. I have a favor to ask of you Shay... “ Faith looks over at her taking the bottle of water from her with a smile.

 

“Sure?” Shayna climbs over the back of the couch sliding next to Tristan. “What’s up?”

 

“You know how I’ve gone the last few years to the Black and White Ball at the Four Seasons for Seattle’s Celebration of Children as the Scarlet’s representative?” Faith looks over at them crossing her arms over her chest to keep warm.

 

“Fuck yeah I do! I’m always super jealous because I want to get dressed up all pretty in a ball gown. What about it? Did you get extra tickets?” Shayna perks up clapping her hands together slightly bouncing in her seat.

 

“Sadly no, but I am in no shape to go this year. I feel like this morning sickness is going to kill me in the next few days,” Faith pouts.

 

“So what you’re saying is…. Oh my god, you want me to go in your spot?” Shayna swings her legs around kneeling on the cushion. “I get to get all fancy? Wait, hold on. The Gala is Saturday… THIS SATURDAY? That’s literally in like three days. I don’t have a gown!”

 

“It is. I’m sure you can find something. We can go out if you want? I can help pick something out. I’m sure it won’t be an issue. Oh and you can bring a guest…” Faith looks over at Tristan with a smirk. “You own a tux? It’s black tie obviously.”

 

“A tux?” Tristan raises an eyebrow at Faith. “Why the hell would I own a tux?”

 

“Well, I guess you get to go shopping too!” Shayna claps, “Oh my god, I’m so excited! I’m sad you’re still not feeling well, but eeee!” she squeals with a giggle.

 

“You are really excited about getting dressed up aren’t you?” Tristan chuckles watching Shayna bounce on the couch next to him.

 

“Yeah because Cinderella is my all time favorite Disney Princess, and when does anyone ever get to be her? I need a fairy godmother though to make a sweet gown appear. What time is it even? Maybe we can go out now. I just have to throw on sneakers…” Shayna grabs her phone off the table to check the time.

 

“Well...I may not be magical...but your Faithy godmother may come through? You can always use my gown. It’s probably a little big for you, but I’m sure we can have it taken in on a rush. It’s just going to go to waste sitting in my closet.” Faith says sadly.

 

“Have you seen my chest? This will not fit into anything you own,” Shayna points at herself, quickly slapping Tristan’s hand. “Although I greatly appreciate it, but you know me as if I need an excuse to get something new.”

 

“My boobs aren’t that small…” Faith pulls at her top, looking down her shirt with a pout, “are they?”

 

“This conversation right now…” Tristan smiles. “Maybe I should Facetime Olls.”

 

Faith shakes her head, “he’s out running some mystery errands that I’m not allowed to go on...god only knows what that means. It’s not too late yet, we can still go out to look at dresses if you want, Shay?”

 

“Yes! I’ll just grab my stuff. Meet you at your door in 5?” Shayna climbs off the couch heading in the direction of the bathroom.

 

Faith stands walking back towards the door, ruffling Tristan’s hair on her way past. “Stop thinking about our boobs.”

 

“Thinking about? Nope. Not me,” Tristan smirks keeping his focus on the TV in front of him.

 

Faith chuckles, “whatever you say, Deni.”

 

“Just you know, don’t let her buy anything that shows them off. I’d appreciate it,” he leans back looking over at Faith as she opens the door.

 

“Tristan… just try to remember something.” Faith leans against the doorjam, “Shayna comes home to you every single night, whether she has cleavage or not. She loves you, and if wearing something low cut makes her feel beautiful…don’t take that away from her.”

 

“Don’t show what off?” Shayna walks out of the bathroom picking up her sneakers from the floor under the coffee table.

 

“Just grabbing my bag! Meet you in the hall!” Faith grins running out the door.

 

“Ok! Don’t show what off? What? No low cut, deep v, chest baring….” Shayna smiles sweetly as she ties her sneaker.

 

“I can send Kopecky with you if you’d like him for a date,” Tristan glances at her.

 

“Shut your face, that is so mean,” Shayna stands from the couch picking her phone up from the table.

 

“Mmm, thought so. Have fun. I guess I’ll get up and go see if I can magically get a tux myself then,” Tristan sighs leaning over on his side on the lounge. “Be sure to take plenty of pictures.”

 

“Just remember, black. All black,” Shayna smiles leaning over the back of the couch as she zips her purse. “Probably won’t be too long. I’ll see you back here in a bit,” she kisses him.

 

*******

 

“Alright, here I come…” Shayna opens the door of the dressing room looking out to the mirrored area. “I think… this is really...I don’t know.” She opens the door wider stepping out in a chiffon black deep v-neck flowing black gown with a satin sash across her waist. Stepping up onto the small carpeted platform, she turns side to side tossing her hair behind her shoulders. “So?” she asks looking back at Faith in the armchair behind her.

 

“Well...I’ll be honest. You look beautiful,” Faith leans forward looking over the dress carefully. “I think I loved that dress a lot more on the hanger.” she makes a sympathetic face. “Do you like it?”

 

“I love the neckline,” Shayna runs her finger along the soft material. “A really pretty statement necklace would dress this up really quick. However, I feel like Tristan might not let me out of the car though,” she pouts looking in the mirror as she grabs at the material flaring it out below her.

 

“Tristan would shit a brick,” Faith giggles. “Go try on the fluffy one that you liked. I can’t wait to see that on.” She points to the dressing room with a smirk, “I hope you can fit out the door.”

 

“Yes! But first… a picture! Let’s give Tristan a little show,” Shayna hold her hand out for her phone.

 

“Ohhhh no. Allow me,” Faith smirks, holding up her phone, zooming in on the low cut neckline, snapping a quick picture. “Say cheese!” She giggles, taking a regular picture as well.

 

“Let me know what he says,” Shanya laughs as she steps off the platform and into the dressing room.

 

**Faith (6:57pm):** _*Picture of neckline*_

**Faith (6:57pm):** _Ding Ding Ding we have a winner! :)_

**Tristan (6:59pm):** **Never allowed to shop with you again. >:| What even is that!?**

**Faith (7:00pm):** _*Picture of full dress*_

**Faith (7:00pm):** _She looks amazing.. She can shop with me forever! :) Need I remind you, Shayna and I have been dating for 10+ years… I have seniority!_

**Tristan (7:01pm):** **She does look amazing…. but no.**

**Faith (7:02pm):** _Party Pooper. :’(_

**Faith (7:02pm):** _BTW, that isn’t the real dress. :P_

**Tristan (7:02pm):** **Good. :)**

 

“I look like wallpaper,” Shayna calls out from behind the door. “Poofy wallpaper.”

 

“Show me!” Faith giggles, “Deni said you looked amazing, but a big hell no to the neckline.”

 

Shayna opens the door slowly whining as she grabs at the bottom of the dress. “For fuck’s sake,” she huffs trying to open the door. “This looked amazing out there until the 1800s threw up all over it.”

 

“Oh….Oh honey….that’s….no. Just...No” Faith shakes her head with a grin, trying to hold back her laughter. “Wow..”

 

“I like the top part, the corset, but the pattern. How did we not see this? I’m not even... “ she turns back towards the dressing room. “Fuck this.”

 

“WAIT!!!” Faith holds up her phone, giving it a little wave in Shayna’s direction. “Need a photo first!”

 

Shayna turns back in a cloud of material as she drops to the ground sitting in the mound of satin with a pout. “There you go.”

 

Snapping a quick picture, she shakes her head, “We can do so much better than that, go take the drapery off and put on something fun!”

 

**Faith (7:13pm):** _*picture of dress*_

**Faith (7:13pm)** : _You win $5 dollars if you can find Shayna in the abyss…_

**Tristan (7:14pm)** : **Why is she rolling around in drapes?**

**Faith (7:15pm):** _It looked good on the hanger! Don’t worry...not the dress._

 

“Faith,” Shayna cracks the door of the dressing room. “This…. this is it.”

 

“Show me!” Faith stuffs her phone back in her pocket.

 

Shayna steps out from the room in a black A-line gown, the neckline sort of resembling cat ears and strapless, the front tea length with a voluminous back end full of textured material. She steps on to the small platform looking into the mirror with a huge grin.

 

“100% Yes. Yes times infinity!” Faith stands from her chair walking over to examine the dress. “THIS, is gorgeous!”

 

“I just…. It’s absolutely breathtaking. The texture, this neckline… everything about this just screams amazing!” Shayna smiles as she turns back and forth in the mirror. “A killer pair of shoes, a not so crazy necklace. It’s fits perfectly. I wouldn’t have to have it tailored either.“

 

“It’s elegant, and flirty...revealing but not distasteful. You look amazing, and the dress really wears YOU almost as much as you’re wearing it!” Faith smiles happily, “You have to get it. You have to!”

 

“It’s also $5,000,” Shayna looks into the mirror biting her lip.

 

Faith stares at her. “SHAYNA!” she gives her a disapproving look. “No.”

 

“It’s Zac Posen,” she pouts as she runs her hand down the pleats in the front. “It’s worth it!”

 

“Shay, it’s just a benefit for something that you’re not even directly connected to! Don’t you DARE spend $5,000 on that dress. Do not even dare!”

 

“How are we doing in here ladies?” the saleswoman walks over behind them. “Oh, the Zac Posen Cat-Eye. This is such a beautiful dress. Sad it’s the last one.”

 

Faith looks at Shayna, shaking her head, “Don’t even think about it. Deni would kill you!”

 

“That dress is actually half price because it’s the sample size and is the last one. If I’m correct it should be about $2500. I can check if you would like?” the saleswoman looks up at Shayna.

 

“No, thats okay…” Faith smiles politely at her.

 

“Can you check for me? Maybe because it’s the last and was a sample? Was it a floor model? Is there maybe something else you can make appear?” Shayna asks giving the woman a sad face.

 

“I can definitely check it out for you, of course. I’ll be back,” she turns around heading out of the dressing area.

 

“Shayna Alexandria Cavalcante!” Faith huffs. “No, no, and more NO!” She shakes her head, “What happened to being sensible! Shoes, okay, I can justify, because you use them frequently. But a dress for ONE night? Absurd!”

 

“Cinderella, Faith. Come on, as if it made any difference what dress this was. As if I’d wear it again. I might as well go big! And I look so pretty,” Shayna pouts looking in the mirror as she twirls around. “Look at it….”

 

Faith sighs with a frown, “You do look really pretty…really REALLY pretty...”

 

“Did you send a picture to Tristan? Might as well even if I don’t get it, keep up the dress up fashion show…” Shayna looks back at her.

 

Faith takes her phone back out from her pocket, snapping a quick picture of Shayna.

 

**Faith (7:33pm):** _*Picture of dress*_

**Faith (7:33pm):** _Designer Prices, shattering Cinderella's dreams._

**Tristan (7:34pm): What do you mean?**

**Faith (7:36pm):** _The dress is 5K. She’s sweet talking the sales rep to try and take it down. So far she’s gotten it to $2500...out of control. Fucking Zac Posen…_

**Tristan (7:37pm): I don’t know who that is but if she wants it… She looks…. I can’t even begin to tell you how amazingly beautiful she looks. I want her to have it. See what she can work out. Call me and I’ll give them my credit card. She deserves it Faith.**

**Faith (7:40):** _Telling her you hated it. I have a plan. Will call you in a few. :)_

 

“Two things...one, I need to pee really bad...and Two….Tristan wasn’t a fan.” Faith frowns mumbling the end part about Tristan.

 

“I’m sorry… what was that?” Shayna spins around narrowing her eyes at Faith.

 

“He didn’t like the back of the dress, or that it was low cut... “ Faith gives her a sympathetic look, “if it’s any consolation, I still think you look amazing?”

 

Shayna gapes at her in disbelief. “Are you…. what the hell! This isn’t low cut. The hell is wrong with him?” she turns around back to the mirror making a face as she runs her fingers along the material. “He’s…. ughhhh.” She steps off the platform heading into the dressing room , slamming the door.

 

“I love you! I have to pee, I’ll be right back!” Faith calls to her, walking out onto the floor, finding the associate who was helping them. “Hi...that Zac Posen...can her boyfriend pay for it over the phone?”

 

“Oh hi, um, yes. I can take his information. Also, I was able to get the dress down to $1000. It was a floor sample as well so I was able to talk the price down some more as well since my manager would like to move the dress to make stockroom available,” the woman clicks away at the computer in front of her on the counter.

 

Faith grins dialing Tristan, looking over her shoulder quickly to make sure Shayna hadn’t come out from the fitting rooms.

 

Ten minutes later Shayna opens the dressing room door with a pout. “Goodbye dress.”

 

Faith sticks out her bottom lip, taking the dress from her, and handing it to the sales associate with a wink. “You’ll find an even better dress Shay, I know it.”

 

“I just want to get a milkshake and go home. I’m over it,” Shayna sighs picking up her purse from the chair. “I guess I’ll have to hit up somewhere tomorrow. Not much time left now.”

 

“We can leave work a little early tomorrow and drive down to Tacoma. They’ve got some really nice stores there too.” Faith smiles, rubbing her back. “You’ll get your perfect dress one way or another. I promise!”

 

“That was it,” Shayna walks through the store to the door slowly watching as the associate takes the dress to the back room.

 

“Come on, Dairy Queen is calling. Then we can put on the footies and watch movies?”

 

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.”

  
  


******

 

“Honey, I’m home,” Shayna calls out as she opens the apartment door walking into the small hallway.

 

“Hey,” Tristan calls out from the living room, leaning back on the couch just catching a glimpse of Shayna walking in.  

 

“Hey babe,” Shayna drops her bag on the stool in front of the breakfast bar. She leans over the couch kissing Tristan’s cheek. “What are you up to?”

 

“Just checking some email, surfing the web. How was the office?” Tristan looks up from his Macbook on his lap returning her kiss.

 

“The usual, busy, craziness, JP on a mini rampage about unnecessary things. Thank god I was leaving early to head to Tacoma because it was getting out of control. with those interns,” Shayna picks her foot up sliding her shoe off with a sigh of relief.

 

“Still heading to Tacoma?” Tristan closes his laptop placing it on the cushion next to him, watching Shayna walk around the couch in the direction of the bedroom.

 

“I don’t know what else to do. There’s still a place or two around here I could fall back on but I want to check down there and give it a shot. I have two days. Did you go get fitted for a tux?” she looks at him with a pout. “You are so lucky, it’s not as hard to get dressed. It’s like a tux? Yes, that one, that shirt, this tie, these shoes… boom, done.” Shayna walks to the bedroom stopping abruptly in front of the door. “Why is the door closed?”

 

“Oh, I must have shut it when I came out earlier,” Tristan shrugs grabbing his laptop, opening it on his lap.

 

Shayna nods as she opens the door turning the main overhead light on, doing a double take at her bed. Normally unmade and a mess, the bed is made with all the pillows in their proper places, the Zac Posen dress sprawled across the top sitting perfectly with a shoe box next to it.

 

“TRISTAN DENIAU, WHAT DID YOU DO?” Shayna squeals as she jumps across the room to the foot of the bed, her hand running across the hem of the dress as she looks out into the living room.

 

Tristan places his laptop on the table in front of him as he stands making his way around, walking into the room. “Where did this come from?” he smirks as he leans on the doorjam. “Must have been that fairy godmother, Shaynarella…”

 

“You didn’t have to do this Tristan. It’s out of control. It was so expensive!” Shayna smiles big still running her fingers along the patterned material. “Wait, a shoe box? You didn’t?”

 

“It wasn’t as expensive as you think. You did a decent job getting the price knocked down, I guess they didn’t tell you that. I went to pick it up and they ended up taking some more off because I’m a Scarlet player and because I said I wanted shoes. You can’t have a beautiful dress without shoes, Shayna,” Tristan grins.  

 

Shayna grabs the box tossing the lid off next to it, digging around in the tissue paper. She pulls out a black velvet platform shoe with little cutouts and tied bows on the front. “Tristan, these are beautiful! Seriously, this is all too much. You didn’t have to do this, I would have found something reasonable,” she carefully places the shoe back in the box. She turns holding her arms out to him.

 

“You deserve it,” Tristan smiles pulling her close to him in a hug, kissing her forehead. “You deserve your Cinderella moment, so I just made it happen a little.”

 

“Faith said you hated the dress though?” Shayna looks up at him with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Nope, I thought you looked absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. She lied a tiny bit.”

 

“So the two of you planned this all? Ridiculous, but I love you both.” Shayna smiles, hugging him tighter.

  
  


********

 

“Has Tristan called at all? I can’t believe you banished him to his apartment to get ready. Well, I can believe it,” Faith laughs sitting on the end of the lounge watching Shayna touch up her makeup in the bathroom mirror.

 

“I wanted it to be a surprise when the car shows up to pick us up. Like a grand entrance if you will, except it will be in the lobby of this building,” Shayna turns grinning at Faith. “I’d also never get dressed if he was around. One look at those tux pants and the ball would be off. No, no it wouldn’t have because I need to wear this dress,” she turns back to the mirror adjusting the loose curls from her up-do.

 

“Let’s get you into that dress then,” Faith stands from the lounge walking into the bedroom. She takes the dress from the doorway of Shayna’s closet, unhooking it from the wooden hanger as Shayna walks into the room behind her. “I want to take plenty of pictures of the two of you like a proud mom on prom day.”

 

The bell rings softly in the living room drawing the two girls from their giggles.

 

“Uh, that better not be Tristan, I told him I’d meet him downstairs,” Shayna looks at the doorway wide eyed.

 

“I’ll go see. Here, at least get into this and I’ll come back and zip you up,” Faith hands the dress to Shayna as she turns to head out into the living room. She walks across to the small hallway, cracking the door slightly to see who is on the other side.

 

“Hey,” Oliver smiles standing in the hall. “I figured you were here.”

 

Faith pulls the door open, throwing her arms around Oliver’s neck giving him a quick kiss, “You just came to report to Tristan didn’t you?”

 

“No, I came to see you. I feel like we’re sending our kids to prom…” Oliver chuckles as they walk into the apartment.

 

“I just said that to Shayna!” Faith giggles walking back to the bedroom door, knocking softly. “Shay, it’s Olls.”

 

“Hey Olls!” Shayna calls from behind the slightly opened door. “I’m in Faith, can you come zip this up?”

 

“Best friend duty calls. Hang tight a second,” Faith nods to Oliver pushing the door open. “Holy shit, this dress is just made for you.”

 

Shayna steps back to Faith, her hands holding up the dress in front of her, “I didn’t even look in the mirror yet. The necklace is just going to make this even more outrageous.”  

 

“Shay, you look just… absolutely amazing,” Faith secures the eye and hook at the top of the zipper giving Shayna a pat on the shoulder. “Finish up, Tristan should be here shortly.”

 

Shayna nods stepping over to her dressing table and mirror picking up the crystal statement necklace she picked up the day before securing it to her neck followed by the small diamond bracelet that gave her just a tiny sparkle to her wrist. Stepping back, she takes in her appearance with a satisfied smirk, grabbing the bottle of her favorite perfume giving herself a few quick sprays before grabbing her shoes, making her way to the door.

 

“Wow, Shayna,” Oliver smiles as she walks out of the bedroom. “Deni is going to flip his shit when he sees you.”

 

“Thanks, Olls,” Shayna grins as she leans one hand on the door jam reaching down to slide her shoes on.  

 

Faith snaps a few pictures with her phone, “I feel like a proud mom. My baby is growing up!” she fake sobs with a chuckle.

 

The landline phone rings from the small table beside Oliver echoing in the living room. Faith leans over his lap grabbing it from the cradle. “Hello? Oh hey Rory. Ah, Tristan is here. Awesome, thank you. She’ll be down a minute or two,” she replies into the phone, clicking the button to hang up. “You ready?”

 

Shayna nods, quickly stepping into the bathroom to grab her lip gloss, quickly swiping it across her lips and dropping it into the clutch on the counter. “Ready!” She shuts the lights off walking over to the breakfast bar grabbing her keys and ID tossing them into the bag.

 

Faith and Oliver follow her out of the apartment to the elevator bank. Faith adjusts the back of the dress as they wait for the doors to open. The polished metal doors slide open with a soft chime, Oliver steps in first looking at Faith and Shayna.

 

“You know, I didn’t anticipate the whole poof aspect of the dress. Olls, hold the door,” Shayna steps in to the elevator next to him as Faith adjusts the back of the dress.

 

“You ok?” Faith watches Shayna fidget with her fingers.

 

‘I am, I’m just nervous,” Shayna bites her thumbnail.

 

“About what? Stop that,” Faith slaps Shayna’s hand from her mouth.

 

“I don’t know, it’s not like this a blind date or worse off a high school formal. Just nerves I guess,” Shayna pouts.

 

“You look absolutely beautiful and I’m sure Deni is going to drop dead when he sees you. It’s just a fancier date,” Faith gives her a reassuring smile.

 

The elevator chimes as the doors slide open once more to the lobby. Faith steps out first looking around as she grabs the door to stop it from moving.

 

Shayna slides out, Oliver behind her as they walk into the main hall of the lobby. Tristan stands from the small sofa dressed in an all black tailored tux, his hair freshly cut and perfectly in place, his glasses sitting neatly on his nose.

 

“Shayna,” he smiles wide, his eyes soft as he holds his hand out to her. “You look… just absolutely stunning. I’m speechless.”

 

“Definitely get a picture of them, Faith. They have been rendered speechless, such a rare occurrence,” Oliver laughs nudging Faith noticing her red eyes. “Faithy, are you ok?

 

Faith swipes at her eyes nodding at Oliver, “Yeah, I’ll be ok. They both just look so good together. I don’t why I’m so emotional all of a sudden.”

 

“You wore your glasses?” Shayna smiles looking up at Tristan as she takes his hand sliding in next to him.

 

“Figured you’d appreciate it,”  Tristan shrugs nonchalantly as he slides his hand along her lower back pulling her closer to his side.

 

“I do! You look so fucking good right now,” Shayna runs her hand down the lapel of his jacket. “So good…”

 

“Ok, let me get some pictures before you go,”Faith snaps her fingers at them trying to get their attention. “Hello? Please don’t tear each other apart on the drive over the Four Seasons. There’s a red carpet and everything you need to look presentable.”

 

Shayna turns looking over at Faith with a pout, “So you’re saying sex pre-gala is out? Damn and here I thought I was smart getting the dress that was shorter in the front for that purpose.”

 

“Don’t say those things right now, Shayna,” Tristan whispers in her ear, his accent heavy with each word. She looks up at him with a smirk. “Don’t look at me like that.”

 

“Alright, let’s get you two to the car,” Oliver coughs. “Did you get enough pictures Faith?”

 

“Yeah babe, I took... “ Faith looks at the screen, “37!”

 

“I’ll expect to see those those pictures when we get back!” Shayna turns to her as Tristan leads her to the black Suburban truck parked at the front door, the driver waiting at the back door.

 

“Have her home at midnight!” Oliver laughs watching as they walk out the doors.

 

“Thanks Dad,” Shayna giggles, waving at them as she steps outside to the truck.

 

The driver opens the door for Shayna. “Yeah, uh... “ she looks at the door and then down at her dress. “I guess I’ll just slide backwards. Sadly you’re going to be on dress duty,” she gives Tristan an apologetic look as she turns around with her back to the chair sliding backwards into the truck.

 

“You good?” Tristan pushes the material of the dress into the seat around Shayna.

 

“Yup, all in,” she nods putting her clutch on her lap, adjusting the material around her.

 

Tristan nods at her shutting the door to the truck. He walks around to the other side opening the door and sliding in next to Shayna. “I mean you could have saved me some room,” he chuckles looking at the massive amount of dress around Shayna.

 

“Yeah well, just think of how much it will be to take me out of this while I’m drunk,” Shayna smiles innocently.

 

Tristan takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. “It is taking everything I have to not climb across this seat,” his blue eyes dark as he opens them, his gaze serious.

 

“I’m so proud,” Shayna smirks at him holding her hand out to him, linking their fingers together when he reaches out. “We’ll be there soon enough. We’ll takes some more pictures on the carpet, have some dinner, a little dancing and go home before midnight so I don’t turn into a pumpkin.”

 

Tristan nods at her, his hand gripping hers as he keeps his focus ahead of him. They ride the remaining 10 minutes to the center of the city in silence.

 

The truck pulls over to the barricaded street and start of the black carpet. The driver jumps out from the front, Tristan following him as they both stand at the passenger side door allowing Shayna to slide out slowly.

 

Shayna pulls the black and white invitation from her clutch handing it to Tristan as they approach a line with a woman with a clipboard standing at the beginning of the black carpet , a table next to her with another girl sitting shuffling through papers.  

 

“Last names?” the woman asks looking up from her clipboard as she adjusts her headset as they make it to the table.

 

“Cavalcante and Deniau,” Shayna smiles as Tristan hands her the invitation.

 

“Gotcha. Ah yes, from the Seattle Scarlet in place of Faith. We’ll definitely miss her this year but you two look amazing. You play on the Scarlet right?” she looks up at Tristan with a big grin as she hands the table girl the invite.

 

“Yes,” Tristan nods, giving her a brief smile.

 

“Good! Good, ok. Here’s your passes,” she takes the cards from the girl at the table hands them back the invite with two black and white passes. “I’ve got Tristan and Shayna Deniau with the Scarlet, I need clearance to send them down the carpet,” the headset beeps as she presses the button on the cord hanging from the left side. A muffled voice comes across the earpiece causing her to nod back. “Ok, we’re a go. Make sure you have those passes when you get down there. You can head down straight this way and then to the right, you’ll see an assistant there and they will send you on your way down the major part of the carpet with the press. They’ll tell you where you have to go. Hope you’re ready to have your picture taken!”

 

Tristan takes the invite and passes from her nodding at her directions as he takes Shayna’s hand. “Thank you.”

 

“Have a great night!” the woman calls out as they walk around the security gate.

 

“She called me Shayna Deniau even though I gave her my last name,” Shayna giggles, biting her lip slightly.

 

“Sounds good doesn’t it?” Tristan smirks looking over at her as they walk down the carpeted sidewalk to the assistant standing at the corner of the main street in front of the hotel.

 

“If you say so,” Shayna chuckles to herself, trying not to be overly giddy.

 

“I’d have to agree,” Tristan squeezes her hand as he hands the passes to the assistant in a headset.

 

He checks it against his clipboard nodding for them to carry on as he hands them back the passes. “Cool, you’re cleared. Be sure to stop along the way so they can take some pictures. There will be other assistants just to remind you in case someone grabs at you.” he grins pressing the remote on the cord. “Shayna Cavalcante and Tristan Deniau of the Seattle Scarlet are coming down. Go on ahead, make a right here.” he waves them on holding out the cards to them.

 

“Thank you,” Shayna nods taking the passes from him.

 

Tristan leads the way as they walk around the corner where a tent spanning the length of the front of the building has been constructed, a few people milling about the opening with cameras and headsets.

 

“This way!” a younger girl in a headset waves at them directing them to the main tent. “They just radioed, Shayna and Tristan from the Scarlet right? Awesome, just walk down the carpet. Stop and take some pictures, there’s marks on the carpet. Then you can head inside. It’s up to you if you want talk to any reporters.”

 

They nod at the girl walking along the carpet into the tent.

 

“So we should stop on that spot there,” Shayna points to the marker on the floor ahead of them. “Ooh, maybe we will be in the paper.”

 

“Yeah because I’m not in there enough,”  Tristan smirks as they stop on the spot, the photographers calling out for them to turn.

 

“Don’t do that weird smirk smile esque thing you do when you take pictures with fans,” Shayna chuckles looking up at him as she stands next to him.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tristan rolls his eyes as he slides his hand along her lower back pulling her close to him.  

Flashes go off around them stopping briefly allowing them to continue down the carpet. A younger girl in a floral dress waves her arms frantically from behind the metal barricade.

 

“Excuse me! Excuse me! I love your dress! Can you tell me who’s the designer?” the girl smiles catching Shayna’s attention.

 

Tristan turns to Shayna with a smile, “Go ahead, Cinderella.”

 

Shayna nods walking over to the girl her smile bright,” Hi, it’s a Zac Posen. I believe it’s called Cat Eye.”

 

“It’s absolutely to die for! I can’t imagine how expensive it was! Ughh! I’m Madison and I run Fashionista Seattle. It’s it cool if I take some pictures for the blog with your name and some questions about like what you do for a living?” she gives Shayna a hopeful look as she clutches her phone and camera.

 

“I’ve heard of your blog! I think you’ve taken pictures of my friend once when you did a piece on fashion in big businesses. I work for the Scarlet,” Shayna grins.

 

“Oh my god, even better! Awesome ok, so I’m just gonna hit record and I’ll ask you a few quick questions. Then I’ll take a picture of you by yourself and then you and that delicious arm candy you have with you,” Madison’s face flushes looking over at Tristan.

 

“No problem. Tristan, you’ll have to be in a picture in a minute,” Shayna looks back at him with a smirk.

 

“Fine,” Tristan gives a brief smile as he rubs his neck.

 

“Ok, so turning this on. Ok. Your name and what you do for a living please?” Madison presses the screen starting the recorder on her phone.

 

“Shayna Cavalcante and I am the executive assistant to the President and CEO of the Seattle Scarlet hockey team.”

 

“Can you tell me who made your dress and where you got it from?”

 

“It’s a Zac Posen and I picked it up at La Belle Rêve”

 

“They have the best selection there!”

 

“I know! They were really accommodating and extremely helpful especially in my case. I wasn’t supposed to be here tonight but my friend who usually attends this ended up being sick giving me the opportunity to get dressed up for a great cause. It was just last minute!  She told me on Tuesday so I needed something quickly.”

 

“And how did you pick this dress out?”

 

“I tried on like three other dresses prior that did nothing for me or my style. We pulled this one out just because I liked the feel of the fabric and the graphic design of the material. It was so pretty. I tried it on and I knew right away I had to have it. It fit perfectly and didn’t need any alterations so I was really lucky in that aspect. Just the overall picture of the dress did it for me. I love the tea length in the front, the fullness of the back, the shape where it feels very A-line, but the asymmetrical design makes it fun.”

 

“And you paired them with which shoes and jewelry?”

 

“My shoes are Jimmy Choo, my jewelry are my personal pieces from Tiffany’s and the crystal necklace is from Betsey Johnson. My clutch is also Jimmy Choo.”

 

“I like how you went with the statement necklace but low key on the jewelry, but a bit of diamond and sparkle.”

 

“I decided to keep it muted because of the dress itself. There was no need to take away from it. The same with my shoes and clutch.”

 

“Smart, very smart. Last question, who’s your date?”

 

“This is Tristan Deniau, defenseman for the Seattle Scarlet,” Shayna grabs Tristan’s hand as he steps forward to her.

 

“And you’re wearing?” Madison asks looking up at him.

 

“Michael Kors,” Tristan smiles not missing a beat as he slides his arm around Shayna’s lower back.

 

“You actually knew that?” Shayna gapes at him.

 

“Of course. I picked it out.”

 

“Michael Kors has fabulous formal menswear,” Madison gives him the once over. “I like how you both went with the all black.”

 

Tristan snorts with a slight cough to cover it up. “Thanks.”

 

“So that’s my questions. If I can just get a picture of Shayna and then of both of you, I’d really appreciate it.” Madison holds up her DLSR camera that was hanging at her side, clicking the phone to shut the recorder off.

 

Tristan lets go of Shayna sliding to his right so she can take a picture by herself. Madison snaps a few, waving to Tristan to step in.

 

“Thank you so much you guys. Here’s my card to check out the piece. It should be up by Monday morning. Thank you again!” Madison hands Shayna a glossy card from her purse. “Have a great night!”

 

“I can’t wait to see it! Thank you!” Shayna takes the card sliding it into her clutch turning to continue down the carpet.

 

“I forgot there was going to be so many pictures, I wouldn’t have worn my glasses,” Tristan sighs rubbing the side of his face, blinking his eyes to adjust them.

 

“You look so smart and sophisticated with your glasses on,” Shayna grins squeezing his hand as they stop again for a few pictures. “And extremely sexy.”

 

“You would,” Tristan murmurs at her as they step together to take a few pictures.

 

They get to the end of the black carpet heading to the main entrance of the hotel. Tristan hands the cards to the assistant at a large table at the door. “Deniau and Cavalcante.”

 

“Thank you very much. You can check the seating chart for your table right outside the main ballroom door. Cocktail hour has started in the Ash Room, you can follow the signs to your left,” the assistant hands the card back to them pointing in the direction for them to head to.

 

“This is so exciting,” Shayna giggle taking Tristan’s hand. “It’s so beautiful in here. I’ve never been. I’ve heard it’s just as pretty for weddings.”

 

“We’ll have to take a look around,” Tristan smiles warmly as they follow the signs to the cocktail hour. “I like how it’s on the water on the back end of the building.”

 

“Let’s get a drink and go look around outside,” Shayna points to the large glass windows along the back of the room overlooking the Puget Sound and Elliott Bay.

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Tristan leads Shayna over to the bar along the right side of the room, ordering their drinks. “Keeping it classy this evening and going vodka?”

 

“You know it!” Shayna giggles standing next to a black table clothed tall table.

 

Tristan pays for their drinks turning to hand one to Shayna as they walk out to the patio area to the railing overlooking the water. He places his hand on the small of her back as the look out across the water.

 

“It’s really pretty out here, but it definitely got chilly,” Shayna turns leaning closer into Tristan, snuggling up to his side as he rubs her arm.

 

“Can I take your picture?” A photographer from behind them calls out holding up his camera.

 

“Sure,” Shayna looks back at him. “Do you want us to turn around or?”

 

“Nope, just how you are with the water in front of you,” he nods.

 

“Ok,” Shayna turns back leaning back into Tristan, the sound of the shutter going off.

 

“Thanks! They’ll be on the Foundation’s website and my website,” the photographer smiles handing them his card and turning to walk away to a small table of people.

 

Shayna takes the card sliding it into her clutch,” We are gonna be in pictures everywhere.”

 

“You do love pictures,” Tristan laughs taking a sip of his glass.

 

They finish their drinks heading back inside to the bar area picking up new ones as they walk around the hotel’s main floor.

 

“It is really pretty in here,” Shayna looks at the chandelier in the main lobby area nodding at large staircase leading to the main ballroom behind it decorated in black and white tulle and twinkle lights.

 

“It is,” Tristan agrees as they walk up the stairs stopping at the large seating charts. “We are at… table 22.”

 

Shayna giggles, walking into the large ballroom looking for their table, “22, go figure.”

  
  


*****

 

“So you think the Scarlet are going to the championships this year?” the banker sitting next to Tristan taps his arm.

 

“I’d like to hope so,” Tristan barely cracks a smile looking at the man.

 

“It would be great for this city! First football, then our soccer team, you guys are totally next!” the man slurs. “This city is fortunate to have such great sports teams.”

 

“Yup,” Shayna nods as she pats Tristan’s thigh under the table leaning into his side. “This sucks,” she whispers to him.

 

“Yeah no kidding,” Tristan mutters back.

 

They sit in silence as the other people around them chatter about random topics as they watch others up on the dance floor. The music slows down as Ed Sheeran’s “Kiss Me” starts playing on the sound system.

 

“It’s our song!” Shayna smiles looking at Tristan with excited eyes. “Can we dance?”

 

“Of course,” Tristan stands holding his hand out to help Shayna to her feet. They make their way around the table to the main open area of the dance floor. Tristan spins Shayna in his hand, pulling her close to him. “I didn’t know this was officially our song now.”

 

“It’s our second time dancing to it, I think it works. You don’t like it?” Shayna frowns. “I love Ed Sheeran.”

 

“No, I like it. I think it’s very fitting,” Tristan looks down at her with soft eyes. “I like the lyrics.”

 

“Good. Remember when I sang it to you at the holiday party?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Nice.”

 

The two sway along to the music, Tristan kissing Shayna’s forehead as they slowly move among the large crowd. “Kiss me, like you wanna be loved…” Tristan coos at her.

 

“Did you just sing that?” Shayna picks her head up from his chest, her mouth gaping. “You know the lyrics?”

 

“Maybe,” Tristan chuckles deeply, rolling his eyes at her. “The things you make me do…”

 

“You’re fucking adorable, Tristan Deniau. You know that?” Shayna laughs as she leans back into him as they continue dancing.

 

‘Of course I am,” Tristan smiles wide.

 

The song changes to something faster, groups people leave the floor heading to the tables or the dessert area.

 

Shayna slides back looking up at Tristan. “So, I’m ready to roll if you are. We can go home, put on some PJs and ice cream it up on the couch if you’re down for that?”

 

“I think I have a better idea,” Tristan smirks as he takes her hand leading her off the dance floor.

 

“Oh come on, really?” Shayna snorts following him out to the hallway.

 

“Why does your mind automatically go to sex?” Tristan shakes his head with a slight laugh.

 

“Oh because it’s just me?” Shayna bites her lip as they walk down the large staircase to the main lobby.

 

“No, I’m just saying. Like every time,” Tristan leads her across the lobby back down the hall by the Ash Room. “I mean I’m sorta the same way. You all dressed up, those shoes.”

 

“Where are we going? Here you’re giving me shit and meanwhile you’re leading me down hallways and into conference rooms of the hotel,” Shayna keeps her pace up with him as they stop in front of the elevator bank.

 

“Alright, to the ninth floor,” Tristan pushes the call button for the elevator as he reaches in his pocket.

 

“What do you mean ninth floor?” Shayna glares at him. “We live literally 10 minutes across town. We don’t have a room here.”

 

“I hear there’s a really great view of the Sound and such from up there,” Tristan keeps his face serious as the doors open for them allowing them to step in.

 

“Usually you need a key for this sort of thing. This place is too expensive for people to just be wondering about,” Shayna raises an eyebrow watching him pull a keycard from his pocket, sliding it into the receiver below the button pad, pressing the button for the ninth floor, the elevator gliding up.

 

“I know that. Let’s go exploring,” Tristan smiles at her holding his hand out to her as the elevator stops, the soft chime signaling their arrival.

 

“Did you… you didn’t?” Shayna walks along with him down the plush carpeted hallway. “There’s not a window in sight or random open balcony up here. Did you get a room?”

 

“Why do you have to ask so many questions?” Tristan frowns at her, stopping at a door marked 912 sliding the card in the door opening the door allowing Shayna to walk in.

 

“Oh my god,” she gasps looking across the well decorated suite stepping inside. “This is absolutely beautiful!”

 

“I thought we could have a proper night out in a really nice suite overlooking the water in a huge comfy bed, somewhere just a little different like a getaway but not really,” Tristan shuts the door behind him, walking in after her across the living room area to the large windows overlooking the waterfront.

 

“I didn’t bring anything with me and I think it’s gonna look a little suspect walking back out in this dress tomorrow,” Shayna frowns looking down at her gown.

 

“Taken care of,” Tristan nods walking across the small dining room to the door for the bedroom. He opens the door flipping the switch on the wall. A small set of lamps on either side of the large king size bed light up casting a soft glow across the room. Two small bags sit on the armchair across from the bed in the corner by the windows. Rose petals are scattered across the white down comforter, the middle shaped like a heart. “Alright, that wasn’t in the plans, but you can thank your best friend for that one and the bags,” he shakes his head looking at the bed.

 

“She’s such a romantic, it’s kinda gross,” Shayna laughs stepping to the foot of the bed grabbing a petal and playing with it in her fingertips as she sits on the bottom of the bed, her dress fanning out around her. “This is really, really sweet of you.”  

 

Tristan steps in front of her at the foot of the bed cupping her face in his hands, tilting her head up to look at him. “So, there’s a dress bag for your gown in the closet. We can still have the ice cream you suggested in front of the fireplace in the living room or I hear there’s a decent sized tub with a view. What would you like to do?”  

 

“What would I like to do? It seems like you have yourself all planned out. So you tell me,” Shayna unbuttons Tristan’s tux jacket, her fingers tracing the hem of the black material.

 

“Well, how I saw this going was,” Tristan leans over kissing Shayna’s forehead taking a step back holding his hand out for her, “I’d help you out of that gown first.”

 

“Oh?” the corner of Shayna’s mouth turns up slightly as she turns in his hands baring her back to him. “Ok, I like that.”

 

Tristan runs his hands up her arms slowly caressing her skin, fingers trailing across her shoulders tracing the notches of her spine as he makes his way down between her shoulder blades to the zipper on the back of her dress. He unhooks the eyelet, slowly pulling the zipper down the length of her back to just above the mass of material at her hips. “What’s this?” he asks separating the sides revealing the black corset underneath.

 

“Oh yeah, that. I needed an extra boost,” Shayna smiles coyly looking back over her shoulder.

 

“An extra boost,” Tristan repeats her words as he slides the dress down allowing her to step back and out of the pile of black fabric. “I like this extra boost.”

 

“I figured it would make for a nice surprise. It’s even better being here in this room with you,” Shayna grins turning around holding her hands out to him to take the dress. He hands her the bundle of material watching her cross the room to the closet doors, stuff the mass carefully into the black dress bag and close the door. She turns to face him, her head tilted to the side, a hand on her hip. “So now… I have to take my hair apart. I won’t be able to continue with the mass of metal in my hair.”

 

“Metal?” Tristan raises an eyebrow at her, a confused look on her face.

 

“Hair pins. You don’t understand what goes into hair like this. I don’t mean to break the mood, but I have to take them out. My head is so itchy,” Shayna reaches up pulling out a few of the black pins from her hair holding them out to him.

 

“Gotcha,” he nods with a chuckle.

 

“Like two minutes, that’s all I need,” she continues pulling pins from her hair dropping them to the dresser, the dark purplish brown curls coming apart and settling on her shoulders.

 

“It’s so weird seeing your hair curly,” Tristan watches her as he sits on the end of the bed untying his dress shoes, tossing them to the closet door. He undoes his tie pulling it from his collar, tossing it on the bed behind him.

 

“You’ve seen it naturally,” Shayna rolls her eyes at him as she pulls the last few pins from her hair. She runs her hands through her hair, making sure all the pins are gone.

 

“You should leave it like that,” he stands from the bed pulling her to him, his fingers running through her long wavy hair.

 

A soft moan escapes her lips, her eyes closing as she leans into his hands. “Maybe, if you really like it,” Shayna murmurs, her voice soft.

 

“Yeah, I do,” he whispers in her ear, his fingers beginning to trace soft circles on the back of her head. She moans something inaudible as her head leans into his chest, her forehead resting on his black dress shirt. “I’m sorry, what was that?” he smirks as he lifts her head up slightly so her eyes meet his.

 

“You know what that does to me,” Shayna looks up, her eyes dark.

 

“That’s the point,” Tristan smiles as he leans down, his mouth meeting hers, his hands making their way down her arms to her lower back pulling her closer to him.

 

“Sweet mother of god,” Shayna giggles breaking them apart after a minute or two, her hands going to the buttons on his dress shirt swiftly undoing them. She slides her hands under the material, her fingers splaying across his chest up to his shoulders pushing the shirt and jacket off in quick movement.

 

“Not wasting anytime?” Tristan shakes his head with amusement as he pushes the clothing on the floor off to the side with his foot. He reaches up to take his glasses off, her hand slapping his.

 

“Leave them on. You started this with my hair,” Shayna narrows her eyes at him as she reaches down between them, her hands working on the belt at his waist. “You know what that does to me.” She pulls the leather through the loops, dropping it to the carpeted floor with a soft thud, a smirk slowly spreading across her face. Quickly undoing the button and zipper of his black tux pants, she slides the material down his muscular thighs down to his feet, her fingers grazing his skin as she crouches down to the floor.

 

Tristan watches her intensely, lifting his feet to help her remove his pants from his ankles. He reaches down, his fingers tangling in her hair as her fingers travel back up his legs, sliding under the material of his black boxer briefs, her nails dragging along his skin. She places a kiss to his thigh as her fingers slide out from under the boxers catching the hem tugging gently.

 

Shayna stops suddenly, plucking her glasses off her nose tossing them to the dresser behind her. She turns back to him with a mischievous grin as she sits up on her knees, her fingers curling into the elastic waistband of his underwear pushing them down slowly. Leaning forward she places a soft kiss on the tip of his cock straining through the black jersey knit earning a soft growl from Tristan.

 

“Don’t play,” he looks down at her through narrowed eyes, his hand giving her hair a slight tug.

 

“So bossy,” Shayna rolls her eyes at him. “What happened to a little fun foreplay?”

 

“You know how I feel about teasing. I’ll remember that when it’s your turn,” the side of Tristan’s mouth curls with a smirk. “Except you’ll be helpless if I have my way.”

 

Shayna gives him a coy smile as she pulls the material down freeing his now painfully swollen cock. She gives him a second to step out of the boxers tossing them over her shoulder to the now discarded pile of his clothing. Leaning forward again, she takes the tip of him in her mouth.

 

“Smart girl,” Tristan sighs contently, his hand guiding her to take more, his hips slightly shifting.

 

Pushing back, she releases him with a soft pop. A smile crosses her lips as she pushes a soft kiss to his abdomen just above the base of his shaft. She runs her tongue along the bottom of his length catching his tip again as she reaches the end, her lips squeezing as she flicks at the slit.

 

“For fucks sake,” Tristan mutters through clenched teeth, the pressure of his hand becoming a little forceful on the back of her head.

 

She gives in, sliding her mouth down taking him in in one swift motion. Relaxing her jaw she retreats quickly, hollowing her cheeks for a little bit of suction as her tongue slides along the underside as she moves quickly. One hand steadies his hip, the other gently working in sync to her mouth at the base of his erection. She tightens her lips giving a little extra pressure causing him to moan.

 

"You are so good at that," Tristan coos watching her, his hand cupping her cheek gently. "Shayna..." he taps her jaw with his finger softly giving her a warning to calm down.

 

Looking up not breaking contact, her eyes giving him a wicked look, she gives him a slight shrug of her shoulder as she continues her pace quickening.

 

"You are out of control," he chuckles deep, his fingers tightening in her hair as he guides her. "You like this, me fucking your mouth? Hmm?"

 

Shayna removes her hand from his cock placing it on his free hip, her mouth taking him deeper than before. She relaxes her gag reflex letting him hit just the back of her throat.

 

"Fuck... Shayna," Tristan growls, the muscles in his abdomen flexing as he tries to control his thrusts. "Shayna... Shayna..."

 

She gives his hip a squeeze giving him the ok as she hollows her cheeks again increasing the suction, her mouth working frantically.

 

Tristan comes hard, both of his hands sinking into her hair pulling it as he spasms, his orgasm spilling into her mouth. "Holy fuck... Shayna!" he moans letting go of her head.

 

Shayna lets him finish, sliding her mouth slowly off him with a soft pop as he falls back onto the large bed behind him. She sits back with a satisfied grin on the carpeted floor, her index finger wiping at her bottom lip at the little bit of moisture. She licks the tip of her finger, biting the nail as she leans back on her free hand, her legs unfolding in front of her, one straight out, the other slightly bent at the knee.

 

Tristan leans over catching a glimpse of her sitting on the floor. "Out of fucking control," he smirks as he runs his hand through his hair. Grabbing the tie next to him, he sits up sliding to the end of the bed, pulling the smooth black material through his hands. “You,” he smiles catching her foot in front of him pulling her across the carpet.

 

"Me?" Shayna pouts, biting her lip as she wiggles her toes at him.

 

Tristan looks behind him to the headboard of the bed taking in the solid piece of wood making up the frame. "Sad news, I don't think there is anywhere to tie you to," he frowns as he looks around. "Might just have to tie you and that's it."

 

"Problems," Shayna laughs holding her hands out to him, her wrists face up. "I suggest you hurry though. You have two seconds before I climb you like a tree. HAHAHA TREE... Hurry up Tree, Say's dying over here and is gonna start taking care of matters on her own."

 

"You wouldn't?" he looks down at her with a raised eyebrow, amusement sparkling in his blue eyes.

 

"Oh, I wouldn't, would I?" Shayna tosses her head back with an amused chuckle. "Sweetheart, there was a time before you and your insatiable lust."

 

"And you thought about me," Tristan smiles proudly, his fingers gently working the bottom of Shayna's foot.

 

"So self centered, aren't you?" Shayna leans back on her hands. "Who says it was you?"

 

Tristan looks down at her, his eyes narrowing as his hands stop suddenly.

 

"Really? For Christ sake. Of course it was you, dumbass. I considered naming my massaging shower head Tristan," Shayna rolls her eyes at him. "That day you bumped into me on suite level, we briefly talked at Mile, and you walked us home... I well you know."

 

He lets go of her foot letting it drop to the carpet below them. "Oh really," he looks at her sliding off the foot of the bed to the floor in front of her. "What did you think about, hmm?"

 

"Oh you know, the fact you were in that blue suit I love so much with the blue and white gingham print dress shirt and how you were in the suite. I told you about that. How badly I wanted to just walk into that suite and have my with you," Shayna smiles.

 

"And what did you do about it?" Tristan leans forward, his hands on either side of her legs, moving closer to her.

 

“You’ve seen what I can do with that shower head,” Shayna laughs laying back on the floor.

 

“Yeah I have,” Tristan traces the pattern of the lace and satin on the bodice of the corset. "Should I make you keep this on, or try to take if off?”

 

Shayna sits back up in front of Tristan, her lips crashing on his. She grabs his face, pulling him over her as she hooks her legs around his hips closing the space between them.

 

“How do you get this off?” Tristan breaks their kiss, his finger sliding between her breasts hooking on the dark material giving a little tug as he kisses across her chin and down her neck.

 

“Hooks, just like a bra,” Shayna barely squeaks out, her hands running through his dark short hair.

 

“A lot of them?” Tristan barely looks up as he continues to trail down her neck and across the swell of her chest.

 

“Ugh, it’s a lot yeah instead of like three. If you do it right, it can come off quickly,” Shayna moans watching him. “Just, leave it, there’s always later, I can’t stand it anymore.”

 

“We have all night,” Tristan smirks playfully nipping at her neck just below her ear.

 

 


End file.
